The central government will accelerate the building of community clinics in cities to give residents more choices and convenience when they need medical treatment.

The new project was announced by Premier Wen Jiabao during the ongoing annual session of the National People's Congress (NPC).

Attending general hospitals is often believed to be troublesome for Chinese, because of high costs and lengthy waiting times.

It is common for patients to have to wait for hours to complete the registration process at large sites, and doctors sometimes only have a short period of time to treat a patient.

In developed countries, however, the bigger hospitals deal with only a small number of outpatients, with most medical services being carried in community clinics, said Health Minister Gao Qiang, who is also a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).

The government plans to press ahead with the establishment of a new type of community-based system in urban areas, and registered community health care clinics will be included in the urban medical insurance programme, the premier told the session of the NPC on Sunday.

From this year, urban areas will pilot projects of making community clinics the first option for patients with minor medical problems.

NPC deputy Li Dingguo, chief and professor of the Gastroenterology Department at Xinhua Hospital in Shanghai, said the initiative would save medical costs and bring more convenient and better medical service for patients. Li has raised the suggestion to the NPC with other deputies since 2003.

"The basic functions of community clinics shall prevent diseases and treat common and minor diseases," said Li, adding that clinics would be open 24 hours a day.

A reason that most patients currently choose large hospitals is that they do not trust the health care service at community level because of their inadequate medical facilities.

Under the scheme, the government will add more spending and provide more training for community clinics.

In some places of China including Shanghai, there already is a community-level medical service system.

In Shanghai, 18,500 community-level doctors have become "family doctors" of common residents.

For example, Zeng Weihua, a doctor from Linfen Community Medical Service Centre, has treated a patient with apoplexy, who found it inconvenient to receive treatment at a large hospital.

"In the middle of 2001, when I got the disease, I could not move and had to stay in bed. With the regular treatment and active care, including massage, from Zeng, I was able to walk freely again two years ago," the patient surnamed Wu, 65, told China Daily.

(China Daily March 7, 2006)