China will continue intensifying its efforts to improve pediatric and psychiatric services in response to the rising public demand, according to the National Health Commission on Sunday.
Speaking at a press conference on people's livelihood for the third session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, Lei Haichao, head of the National Health Commission, emphasized the critical link between pediatric and psychiatric services and public well-being, noting that families are increasingly prioritizing their children's health, and with socioeconomic advancements, the demand for mental health services is also steadily rising.
He then elaborated on the country's progress in developing pediatric and mental health services and the future plans.
"According to our current statistics, there are over 8,000 general hospitals nationwide that provide pediatric outpatient or inpatient services, and 98 percent of county hospitals have established pediatric departments. In terms of mental health services, around 3,000 general hospitals offer diagnostic, treatment, and rehabilitation services," said the official. "We are actively investing in the training of pediatricians and psychiatrists, and have established national children's regional medical centers and national medical centers for mental illnesses. These initiatives have provided high-quality services for the public seeking medical care," said Lei.
However, Lei noted that there remain gaps and weaknesses in healthcare services, particularly in comparison to the public demand. During winter and spring seasons, the high incidence of respiratory diseases often leads to strained pediatric medical services in certain areas, a challenge especially pronounced in major cities. Additionally, the demand for mental health services has surged rapidly, with an increasing number of people seeking scientifically sound guidance for emotional regulation and related issues.
To address these challenges, sustained efforts are needed, including improving the service systems, expanding the workforce of specialized medical professionals in these fields, and promoting health education related to mental illness prevention and rehabilitation, Lei said.
"We will focus on enhancing pediatric services in county-level hospitals that currently lack such departments to bridge the gap. Additionally, pediatric and mental health services have been prioritized as one of the eight practical initiatives to serve the public launched by the National Health Commission this year. For mental health services, our goal is to ensure that by the end of this year, every prefecture-level city will have at least one psychological or sleep clinic. We have also planned to organize no fewer than 5,000 national and provincial-level mental health education lectures and public awareness campaigns," said Lei.
Lei also emphasized the importance of making mental health services more accessible to the public.
He noted that last year, the National Health Commission, in collaboration with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, established a unified national mental health service hotline at 12356. Currently, seven cities have successfully achieved provincial number unification.
Moreover, Lei said that the goal is to ensure that by May 1 this year, all remaining provinces and cities will adopt the unified 12356 hotline number to streamline access to mental health support across the country.
China to continue enhancing pediatric, psychiatric services amid growing public demand: official
