China’s Aging Population Needs A Different System Of Care

Medical Celia Hoffman
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Due to the fast-ageing population currently affecting China, its over-burdened hospitals upon which its healthcare system is overly reliant are finding it hard to curtail a spike of diseases. This was revealed by the World Health Organization on Saturday.

General practitioners or family doctors are often being shunned by Chinese patients who prefer to opt for big city general hospitals for treatment, even for minor ailments. Most often than not, this trend creates fierce competition and snarling lines of patients awaiting treatment.

While pointing to rising rates of cancer and cardiovascular disease in the country, WHO China representative Bernhard Schwartlander disclosed that the demand on China’s health system as well as the costs will continue to rise as long as “China’s health challenges… continue to mount with an aging population.” According to him, meeting these challenges is simply not sustainable in a health system that depends mainly on hospitals.

As part of efforts to overhaul its health care system, China has been pledging to increase the number of local GPs, improve their quality and promote local, grassroots medical facilities. However, progress has really slowed down due to lack of trust by patients in local health centers and low doctor salaries.

Some hindrances to the growth of China’s health system were pointed out by the WHO which includes tight consultation slots that often last for just a few minutes, difficult booking systems, and long waiting queues.

This is the kind of pressure doctors in China are regularly faced with every day in their hospital. The WHO rightly refers to it as “a symptom of the enormous patient load.” Nevertheless, it never hesitated to condemn the situation by saying these are not how things ought to be in a well-functioning health system.