All 71 key district and city-based hospitals in Shanghai should set up a service center for patients to book medical appointments, borrow wheelchairs or receive basic health information, the Shanghai Health Bureau said on Monday.

The centers should also provide water and health brochures.

Shanghai is the first city in the nation to require such centers in all of its hospitals.

The centers will all bear a unified logo - a heart with the letter "S" in it - so they are easy for patients to find.

Several medical facilities have already set up the center.

"Patients can easily find the center and get help. Nurses working in the center provide bilingual service," said Xia Lin of Shanghai Children's Medical Center.

(Shanghai Daily August 1, 2007)