Neighbors give Lao hospitals healthy dose of support

Easing access

Crossing the border is only the beginning. Once patients arrive in Mengla, for instance, they have to navigate the healthcare system in another country.

At lunchtime, Liu Sha, 40, was still sitting behind the translation desk in the outpatient hall of Mengla County People's Hospital. The translation desk is clearly identified, with translators' names and phone numbers displayed for Lao patients who need help. For Liu, who has worked there for more than six months, translating words is only part of the job.

"We are not just translators. Sometimes we also have to take on the role of family members," she told China Daily during a recent visit. "We need to put ourselves in the patients' shoes, build trust with them and ease their anxiety."

Her work can follow almost the entire journey of a Lao patient — from coordinating pickup at the border post to helping with registration and payment, accompanying them to consultations and examinations, explaining treatment plans and translating consent documents. After a patient is discharged, translators often also explain medication dosages and help arrange follow-up visits.

Medical terminology sometimes requires repeated explanation, Liu said, while dialect differences and unfamiliarity with medical practices in China can leave some patients hesitant about examinations or surgery. Building trust, she said, is often as important as the translation work.

Song Zhangwen, 55, who lived in Laos from the age of 8, began working as a hospital translator in 2013 and has assisted more than 50,000 Lao patients.

His phone is never turned off, and he has occasionally paid medical bills upfront for patients short of money. "For me, it is about helping people as much as I can," he said.

As cross-border patient numbers have grown, so has the demand for translators.

The hospital has expanded from one translator to three, but Miao Zhihai, the hospital's Party secretary, said even that is not enough. Local Dai volunteers are also brought in to help bridge the language gap, as the Dai and Lao languages share similarities.

Meanwhile, cross-border transfers for emergency cases have also been streamlined. For critically ill Lao patients, coordination between the border port and the hospital has helped cut cross-border emergency clearance time from about 30 minutes to 10 minutes, according to the Xishuangbanna health commission.

For some patients, the coordination begins even before a journey to China is considered.