Five hospitals in Shenzhen are starting a pilot program of setting up professional care wards, according to the Shenzhen Municipal Health Commission.
The five hospitals are Shenzhen People’s Hospital, Shenzhen No. 2 People’s Hospital, Peking University Shenzhen Hospital, Shenzhen No. 3 People’s Hospital and University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Hospital.
In the city’s hospitals, the care of hospitalized patients in the ICU and other special departments is offered by nurses and care workers, while the inclusion of family companions in the care process for those inpatients in other general departments is still common, which is a heavy burden to the family, but also forms a potential threat to the general sanitation of hospitals.
More than 10 deputies to the Shenzhen Municipal People’s Congress, including Ren Guoming, jointly submitted a motion, calling on the relevant government departments to learn from public hospitals in Hong Kong. A professional nursing team is responsible for the care of patients in public hospitals in Hong Kong, while family members are only allowed to visit the patients during visiting hours.
In response to the social needs, some hospitals in Shenzhen have shortened family companions’ stay with inpatients and tried to implement a visiting-hours policy.
For patients with severe diseases and those who cannot live on their own due to functional impairment, wards for critical patients with centralized management have been set up. The wards possess equipment similar to the ICU and a professional team consisting of care workers with experience in caring for critical patients. The patients’ family only needs to pay the care workers, visit the patients during visiting hours, and learn updates of the patients from doctors.
Care in these hospitals will be provided by nurses and care workers. A decrease in the number of nonmedical people in wards and hospitals can reduce the risks of cross-infection, according to a Shenzhen Special Zone Daily report.
At present, each of the pilot hospitals is making efforts to develop a work plan, select suitable departments and assess the professional ability of its medical care workers.
The health commission will mull over the cost of a professional care hospital ward and the feasibility of the extra medical bills being covered by medical insurance.