As a part of medical system reform, six major hospitals in Beijing will set up branches in the suburbs to provide high-standard service to patients on the outskirts of the capital.

The first clinic, affiliated with China Medical University (CMU), opened in the Shunyi District on April 2. The branch aims to build a regional medical center serving nearly 800,000 residents in the district and neighboring rural areas, and plans to exchange research achievements and clinic resources with its parent hospital.

The current cooperation will focus on medical exchange, as every month dozens of famous experts from the parent hospital will provide service in Shunyi and the local doctors will have the opportunity for advanced training in the big hospital.

"We will notify local residents of the experts and their specialties one week before their arrival," said a representative involved with the project.

Apart from the Shunyi branch affiliated with CMU, five more major hospitals, including Jishuitan Hospital, Beijing Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital, Beijing Municipal Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and Capital Pediatric Research Institute, will initiate medical service exchanges by setting up sub-branches.

According to the capital's medicare plan, in the next five years, 10 remote districts of the city will set up respective regional medical centers by relocating local medical resources on the basis of service exchange with urban hospitals. The plan is expected to provide better medical services to suburban residents and ease the difficulties involved with long distance travel to urban hospitals for those with serious diseases.

(China.org.cn by Huang Shan, April 5, 2007)