FUZHOU — Vice-Premier Sun Chunlan has called for more efforts to better implement the decisions and arrangements of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and the State Council to deepen the country’s medical reform in all areas, and to keep improving the people’s health and well-being.

Sun, also a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, made the remarks during a three-day inspection tour in East China’s Fujian province that ended on Oct 17.

Sun, who visited several local healthcare institutions in Fujian, underscored the importance of promoting public hospital reform, stressing that it is “the top priority for deepening the medical reform.”

Salary system reform should be deepened to ensure practitioners enjoy equal pay for equal work, Sun said.

She also urged to add cancer drugs with lowered prices to the medical insurance as soon as possible and asked for efforts to reduce the burden on patients and bring them more convenience.

During the inspection, Sun visited some elderly people living in Fuzhou, capital of Fujian, and extended congratulations to all the seniors around the country during the Chongyang Festival, a traditional Chinese festival to pay respects to elders that falls on Oct 17 this year.

She stressed to combine the solutions tackling the aging population and the deepening of the medical reform, and to promote the integrated development of healthcare institutions and the elderly care service system.