The Shanghai Health Bureau announced yesterday that local health
authorities have closed 8,129 illegal medical facilities over a
three year campaign.
The bureau said health inspectors confiscated 3.43 million yuan
(US$471,800) in illegal income, 13,331 packages of medicines and
52,652 pieces of medical equipment from the illegal clinics, which
have been fined a total of 6.03 million yuan during the
campaign.
Five local hospitals were charged with renting spaces to
unlicensed people or clinics.
"During our campaign, we found 87 clinics providing diagnosis
and treatment for sexually-related diseases without license and
three beauty parlors illegally practising medicine," said Song
Guofan, from the Shanghai Health Bureau. "Another 66 medical
facilities were punished for publishing advertisements that
exaggerated cures and misled patients."
Two doctors and six medical facilities had their licenses
withdrawn for serious and repeated violations.
"Health officials in the Pudong New Area found a seriously ill
pregnant woman in an unlicensed clinic in Sanlin Town on August 10
in 2006.
"Officials immediately sent her to a hospital for emergency
treatment. The woman told officials later that she had only visited
the illegal clinic to save herself money."
(Shanghai Daily January 8, 2008)