Shenzhen will beef up the construction of community health centers and expand the space of such centers this year, the city’s health commission said Wednesday.
During the city’s 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), 28 community hospitals will be planned in Shenzhen. The city will have a total of 1,012 community health institutions and upgrade the contracted services of family doctors.
In Shenzhen, community health institutions include community health hospitals, community health centers and community health service stations, according to the city’s relevant revised rules, which came into effect Jan. 1 this year.
According to the new rules, the floor space of a community health center should be no less than 1,400 square meters, compared to the previous 400-square-meter minimum requirement.
Community health service stations, which are relatively small, are mainly opened in schools, office buildings and industrial parks. The minimum area of a community health service station is reduced to 90 square meters.
The city’s newly introduced community hospitals are required to each have a floor space of no less than 4,500 square meters, with at least 50 hospital beds for elderly care, rehabilitation, nursing and hospice care, according to the rules.
The construction on the Jingtianbei and Jinlingjiari community hospitals in Futian District has already begun, with the former planned to be fully opened in 2023.
According to the district’s planning, Jingtianbei Community Hospital is located at the intersection of Jingtian North Fifth Street and Jingtian West Road, with a construction area of 4,510.18 square meters and seven floors.
Upon completion, the hospital will be the city’s first community hospital built in accordance with the new rules.
According to the city’s health commission, the average floor space of Shenzhen’s community health institutions was less than 1,000 square meters as of September 2021.