'Healthcare on wheels' brings vital services to remote mountain villages

HANGZHOU — In Libao village, nestled in the misty mountains of Zhejiang province, a dozen or so elderly residents waited patiently in line beside a white medical vehicle — a "smart mobile clinic" bringing essential healthcare services to their doorstep.

Among them was 94-year-old Wu Changgen, who had come seeking treatment for his headache and medication for his wife. In the past, he had to walk about 10 kilometers to reach the nearest township clinic.

"It was hard to go down the mountain to see a doctor, so I used to put up with minor ailments," Wu said. But with the medical vehicle, healthcare has come right to his door, much to his delight.

The mobile clinic, roughly 12 square meters in size and resembling an ambulance, is equipped to support routine check-ups such as blood pressure and glucose tests, and dispense prescriptions.

Jingning She autonomous county, where Libao is located, operates seven such vehicles, which make four visits every month to 78 remote villages that lack permanent clinics or adequate medical facilities.

Established in 1984, Jingning is China's sole autonomous county of the She ethnic group. The mountainous county is home to 779 peaks over 1,000 meters high, with a scattered, aging population in isolated villages.

Libao, with just over 100 residents, most of whom are over 60 years old, reflects the broader challenge facing rural healthcare in the county. According to Chen Lifeng, director of the health center in Dajun township, also located in Jingning, a gap remains between the medical needs of local residents and available local resources.

"Setting up clinics in every village is costly, and attracting or retaining medical staff is even harder," Chen said, noting that expanding facilities and staff requires massive investments and lacks sustainability.

To address the issue, in 2019, Jingning began deploying smart mobile clinics, offering basic care and prescriptions in remote mountainous villages while improving services at the health centers in more populated townships.