Legislators with the Beijing Municipal People's Congress Thursday urged the government to accelerate the construction of a public health system in the capital city's rural areas.

"In Miyun County, one-third of rural hospitals are unable to pay their staff's salaries unless they borrow from banks or fail to pay other bills," said Shi Bingzhong, director of the congress' Education, Science, Culture, Health and Sports Committee.

"The situation is even worse in the rural Mentougou District, where one-fifth of hospitals failed to pay staff salaries," he added.

"Although the municipal government has increased annual investment in the public health sector, grass-roots medical organizations, disease prevention and control agencies, as well as health supervision organs still lack enough financial input from the government," Shi said.

The Beijing municipal government invested 1 billion yuan (US$120 million) in the public health sector and the traditional Chinese medicine last year, excluding spending of 1.3 billion yuan (US$155 million) in the campaign against SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome).

Total government investment in the public health sector this year will reach 1.4 billion yuan (US$170 million), nearly 20 percent more than last year, according to sources with the government.

Meanwhile, Shi pointed out that rural health facilities and personnel, especially in mountainous areas, are far behind their urban counterparts.

"Most district- and county-level disease prevention and control centers, as well as health supervision organs, do not have their own office buildings," he said.

Some share one building with other departments and some rent houses for work, according to him.

Medical facilities in townships and villages are even more underdeveloped, Shi said.

"I once saw a rural hospital in Miyun County still using equipment bought in the 1950s," he recalled.

Shi urged the Beijing municipal government to pay greater importance to rural hospitals and increase investment in them.

While pointing out problems existing in the public health system, Shi Thursday confirmed achievements have also been made by the government in this sector.

(China Daily September 10, 2004)