More than 20 hospitals in Beijing have been selected as
hospitals for the 2008 Olympic Games, with all the doctors
receiving training in English.
Doctors in the designated hospitals -- which include the PLA
General Hospital and the China-Japan Friendship Hospital -- will
write prescriptions for foreign patients in both Chinese and
English, according to the Beijing Municipal Health Bureau.
First aid volunteers speaking other languages will be recruited.
The bureau will cooperate with banks to ensure foreign patients can
use international bank cards in the hospitals from 2007.
Jin Dapeng, director of the bureau, said a food safety
monitoring system covering all Olympic Games districts and counties
will be set up next year.
Food and drinking water in the Olympic village, stadiums, hotels
and restaurants will be monitored to ensure athletes' safety, Jin
said.
He said that a reporting system covering intestinal and
respiratory diseases will be activated during the Games. "There are
still some weak points in the medical system -- for example, the
skills and service quality of doctors and nurses need to be
improved," Jin said.
In addition, Beijing's emergency medical aid center will upgrade
the satellite positioning system used for ambulances. The Health
Bureau will cooperate with the aviation department to provide air
rescue services during the Games, according to the bureau.
(Xinhua News Agency December 28, 2006)