China's medical services are in dire need of reform, the country's top political advisers and national lawmakers said yesterday.

Sun Jiye, speaking at the ongoing Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee meeting, urged the government to implement sweeping changes as the price of medicines and medical services creep ever higher.

"The current exorbitant costs are beyond the reach of the people," he said.

"While most commodity prices have declined since moving toward a market economy, those for medicines and medical services are going the other way," said Sun. "They have kept on rising, which has kept many patients away from seeing doctors."

Per capita clinical payments and hospitalization expenses increased annually by 13 and 11 percent respectively over the past eight years, according to the Ministry of Health.

Experts say increased costs have taken a heavy toll and that the public is complaining more.

A survey on the People's Daily's website www.people.com.cn found that difficulties in accessing healthcare were among the top ten concerns that people wanted the National People's Congress (NPC) and CPPCC to address.

"Nearly 48.9 percent of the population cannot afford to see doctors when they fall ill and 29.6 percent are not hospitalized when they should be," Gao Qiang, vice-health minister, said earlier this year.

The problem is more acute in rural areas, where only 20 percent of medical resources are available despite being home to 70 percent of the population.

"The difficulty in seeking medical help is one of farmers' three biggest worries, the other two being natural disasters and no-one taking care of them when they get old," said Mao Fengmei, an NPC deputy and a farmer from northeast China's Liaoning Province.

China, with 22 percent of world's population, only has about 2 percent of world's total medical resources.

"Inadequate government input into public hospitals is one of the reasons leading to the medical bottleneck," Sun said, who listed "laggard health care system reforms" and the unregulated market as other factors.

"The government should boost its financial help for public healthcare," Sun said. His view was shared by Wang Ying, an NPC deputy from the southwest province of Yunnan.

"As healthcare is a government-initiated undertaking, the government should shoulder its responsibility," said Wang, a doctor.

In his government work report on Saturday, Premier Wen Jiabao vowed to improve the medical system to make services more accessible and affordable. He also pledged that rural areas will receive special attention this year.

This was welcomed by Mao, the farmer turned legislator. "The resolve shown by the government to address this issue is encouraging," she said.

She added that improving the healthcare system in the countryside is an urgent matter.

(China Daily March 10, 2005)