Chosen hospitals to be fit for Olympics
By Yu Yilei (China Daily)
Updated: 2005-07-11 05:29

Doctors and other medical staff in 20 hospitals in the Chinese capital will be able to communicate with their patients and give their diagnoses in English by 2008, Beijing Olympic organizers said.

The hospitals and the Beijing Emergency Medical Centre were officially approved by the Beijing Olympic Games Organizing Committee yesterday to serve for the 2008 Games and Paralympic Games.

It will mean the hospitals raise their standards so they can provide the best possible service for people from around the world during the Games.

"These hospitals will not only be places to take care of and treat patients, but also a place to get a better understanding of people from other countries," said Liu Jingmin, deputy mayor of Beijing and executive vice-president of the Organizing Committee of the Games of XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG).

He was speaking during a signing ceremony between the hospitals and the committee yesterday.

The hospitals are also expected to provide other services such as preferential treatment and reserved beds for visitors during the Games.

Staff and hospital facilities will also be used at a medical centre to be built in the Olympic Village, which will hold athletes, coaches and other members of the Olympic Family.

"I hope the hospitals can reach international standards during the Games and help Beijing to become a true international metropolis," Liu said.

Organizers said they will set up an efficient medical network which will see a medical station every 800 metres in the city, allowing every 15,000 people to have one medical station during the Games.

The stations will provide basic medical aid to people with Olympic tickets, free of charge, before transferring to big hospitals if necessary.

The organizers said Olympic duties will not affect the hospitals' daily operations, treating Beijing citizens. "Based on the experiences of previous Olympic host cities, the number of visitors going to hospital during the Games was not large," said Dai Jianping, deputy head of the Medical Services Department of BOCOG.

The hospitals said they were ready to take up the challenges ahead.

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