Grassroots-level doctors to play key role as holidays approach

With the New Year's and Spring Festival holidays coming in January, grassroots medical institutes aim to make better use of grassroots-level doctors and a monitoring mechanism to deal with the pressure of offering medical services once migrant workers return to their hometowns.

Chen Jingjing, an official at a community medical center in Beijing's Huairou district, said at a news conference on Thursday that rural areas usually have large populations of seniors and children — two groups that are particularly vulnerable to the COVID-19 epidemic.

In preparation of the wave of returnees, Chen said that the district has established a team of family doctors, grassroots doctors and volunteers offering medical advice to rural residents.

She added that grassroots medical workers have also made efforts to promote epidemic control and prevention knowledge to help the residents protect themselves.

"The volunteers and grassroots doctors who usually live in rural areas and villages can help us meet rural residents' needs to better solve their problems," she said.

To better meet the healthcare needs of vulnerable groups, including children and the elderly, Chen said that Huairou's town-level medical center will collect information about the health of people in such groups and update their medical demands in timely manner.

"The family doctors cooperating with our center will also take training courses at city or district-level hospitals and then give lectures to volunteers and grassroots doctors to improve their medical skills," she added.