China’s cancer hotels
31-Oct-16, Asean Today
The Chinese healthcare reform has extended the reach of national healthcare insurance from 35% of the population in 2003 to 95% in 2011. But despite numbers suggesting the reform’s success, the system is failing its patients.
%20Flickr_Jacksoncam.png "Chinas cancer hotels (c) Flickr Jacksoncam")
Image: flickr @Jacksoncam / Asean Today
A recent Reuters story revealed the ordeal faced by Chinese cancer patients. Those who cannot afford a hospital bed live in refugee camp-like hotels, awaiting specialist treatment unavailable in their local hospitals. Having travelled hundreds of miles, some of them spend months in a seedy hotel, hoping to be seen by a reputable doctor.
“There’s an imbalance between the big cities and small ones. Good doctors don’t want to work in small places,” explained a man who cares for his wife in one of Beijing’s cancer hotels. By not staying at the hospital the couple manage to save half of the accommodation cost.