A nurse talks with a child of the Qiong ethnic group, who just had a surgical operation for congenital heart disease, at the Chengdu Military General Hospital.[Photo by Huang Zhiling/China Daily]

A NEW medical campus, built at the cost of 4.85 billion yuan ($800 million), of the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University in Henan province started operation on Sept 16. Although the number of beds in the hospital has increased to 10,000, the highest in the country, the hospital remains overwhelmed by patients. Ifeng.com commented on Monday:

The hospital is still overcrowded with patients because it is difficult to see a doctor at county－or town-level hospitals. Such hospitals have limited capacities to admit and treat patients.

Major hospitals are always full of patients because they also have to treat patients who could have received medical attention at lower-level hospitals. Big hospitals provide medical treatment for a large number of patients but face a shortage of medical resources.

To solve the problem, the authorities have to develop and upgrade community health facilities and refer as many patients as possible to them for treatment. This will help them provide better medical treatment to more patients.

The wayward development of large or major hospitals is also part of the problem. Patients who can afford the medical bills ignore the smaller hospitals and flock to major ones. As result, the large hospitals are overcrowded and the smaller ones see their medical staff exiting.

Besides, large hospitals gradually form a monopoly in a region, which means a decline in medical services and more difficulty in seeing a doctor.