Large hospitals cannot cure all the medical ills

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.