Public hospitals will ensure quality growth
The central government has proposed building a new system to facilitate the higher-quality development of public hospitals, with the aim of building more advanced hospitals at the national and provincial levels, and set an example for the rest of the hospitals to follow.
The vision was outlined in a guideline issued by the General Office of the State Council on June 4, whose goal is to boost the development of public hospitals to meet the public's increasing demands for quality medical services and prevent epidemics and other public health emergencies.
To achieve the goal, the guideline requires city-level grade-III hospitals — top level hospitals that are above grade-II and grade-I hospitals — to increase assistance to the county-level hospitals, which play a key role in the country's healthcare system.
Greater efforts should be made to improve specialty departments, promote innovation in medical technologies and medical services, and allow information technologies to play a bigger role, it said. The circular requires reform of the personnel management and salary distribution system of public hospitals, and strengthening the system for evaluating and cultivating health workers.
The pricing of medical services and payment methods for medical insurance also needs reforms, the circular said.
The operation and management system of public hospitals needs upgrading in order to improve the comprehensive budget management and internal control systems, and upgrade the mechanism for patients to evaluate the medical staff's performance, it added.
Science to guide greening plans
Science will play a bigger role in China's future greening efforts as the country aims to minimize potential hazards triggered by errors in policymaking.
A guideline for scientific afforestation issued by the General Office of the State Council on June 2 stresses the importance of choosing the right species of trees when it comes to afforestation. Each locality should prepare a catalogue of native varieties of trees and grass to be planted, and use non-local varieties with utmost prudence, the guideline said.
The guideline also said that greening methods in key areas, such as the mouths and branches of big rivers like the Yangtze and Yellow rivers, and the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau region, should vary in accordance with local conditions.
Aiming to combat climate change and safeguard the country's ecological security, the guideline sets clear goals for the protection of arable land and water resources. To better protect arable land, greening plans should designate specific areas, primarily including barren hills, wastelands and desolate sand dunes, deserted or damaged mountain massifs, and degenerated forests and grasslands suitable for afforestation.
Water sources should be thoroughly studied before deciding to green a particular area, and science-based and targeted solutions should be applied to restore vegetation cover, the guideline said. And local governments should work out and incorporate scientific greening plans into their respective spatial plans, and implement them with proper oversight.
The guideline also calls for improving relevant policies, establishing long-term mechanisms and consolidating the achievements made so far in transforming farmlands into forests or grasslands, and providing protection for young forests to survive.
Committees approved for service trade fair
The State Council has approved the plan to form an organizing committee and executive committee for China International Fair for Trade in Services. Vice-Premier Hu Chunhua will serve as the chairman of the organizing committee, according to a circular released by the General Office of the State Council on June 1.
The organizing committee will coordinate the work for organizing the event and seek the approval of higher authorities as required.
The circular requires the committees to finalize the departments and localities to be involved in the preparations, and invite other countries, international and regional organizations to attend the exhibitions and conferences on behalf of the Chinese government.
Led by the organizing committee, the executive committee will be responsible for drafting and implementing the overall and specific plans for the fair, and will complete the required tasks in time, and dispatch resources as and when required.
