This city faces a serious ambulance-shortage and must act soon
to improve its emergency services, according to a deputy to the
Shanghai Municipal People's Congress.
Chai Junyong proposed that the city increase the size of its
ambulance fleet and that medical services available through the
city's '120' medical emergency hotline be expanded.
Last year, Shanghai had one ambulance for every 70,000
residents. The national standard is one ambulance for every 50,000
residents.
Chai said he had investigated the city's ambulance fleet and
found that 38 of its 278 ambulances needed to be replaced. He said
the vehicles should be replaced every eight to 10 years in order to
keep the fleet in good working condition.
The deputy noted that city officials had been receiving a
growing number of complaints about the '120' emergency center.
Although Shanghai's emergency network is meant to cover the
whole city, the service cannot meet public demand, he said.
In addition to the problems with the city's ambulance fleet,
Chai said he also found a shortage of manpower. Some 1,293 people
work for the city's medical emergency department, which means less
than five staff members are assigned to each ambulance. That is
less than the amount needed to ensure optimal service.
Medical staff have to work extra hours to make up for the
manpower shortage. He added that though these people work in a
high-intensity, difficult environment and shoulder great risks and
responsibility, they are poorly paid and have limited career
options.
As a result, many university graduates are reluctant to work for
the city's emergency services department. For example, last year
the municipal emergency center recruited only two local university
graduates, Chai said.
Chai suggested that staff working for the city's emergency
departments should receive the same pay as medical staff at the
same level working in other departments.
He said non-local medical graduates recruited by the emergency
department should also receive favorable policies for residential
registration.
(China Daily January 31, 2007)