Source: The First Affiliated Hospital
Written by: The First Affiliated Hospital
Translated by: Chen Zhiyong

On March 1, the Launching Conference of the National Blood Purification Standardisation Management and Training Programme of County-Level Hospitals was held in Beijing. The Programme was entrusted by the Ministry of Health (MoH), and was led and organised by Professor Yu Xueqing, Chairmen of Chinese Nephrology Association of Chinese Medical Doctor Association (CMDA), and Head of Department of Nephrology of The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University. Professor Yu Xueqing pointed out at the conference that the key to preventing and treating chronic kidney diseases is increasing the cure rate of uremic patients. China’s disease incidence of end stage renal disease (ESRD) is rising year by year; prevention and treatment at basic level are weak and difficult; the availability and quality of dialysis lag far behind people’s demands.

According to statistics, the number of ESRD – uremic patients exceeds a million but the blood purification case registries and the peritoneal dialysis case registries combined are just over 300,000: the treatment rate of uremic patients is below 20%. Prevention and treatment of ESRD was added to the indemnification of 20 major diseases supported by the Chinese government. Because of the lack of transplantable organs, most patients have to choose blood purification (blood dialysis and peritoneal dialysis) to stay alive.

Sun Yang, Vice-Director of Department of Medical Services Surveillance, Ministry of Health, pointed out that equipment and training in hospitals at basic level are insufficient due to less developed economy and relative lack of medical resources in rural areas. That farmers could not afford dialysis leads to that dialysis is hardly available in basic level hospitals and that its quality could not be guaranteed. Blood dialysis is not yet available in many counties.

To tackle the problem, the Department of Medical Services Surveillance of MoH set up the National Blood Purification Standardisation Management and Training Programme of County-Level Hospitals, and entrusted it to Chinese Nephrology Association of CMDA. Professor Yu Xueqing said that the Programme will set up a system of qualification training, testing and certification for county-level hospital blood purification doctors, improve standards of technical operations, implement management and training, and improve professional abilities. He said that by the end of 2015, the Programme will help train and test staff in 800 county-level hospitals where there is no dialysis centre, and then train and test staff in other hospitals with a dialysis centre, thus establishing a nationwide training system for county-level blood purification doctors, enhancing the medical level and services of county-level hospitals nationwide, and making available qualified medical services to patients at grassroots level and in remote rural areas.

Zhang Yanling, President of Chinese Medical Doctor Association said that the Programme is a duty of the Association and that it will fully support MoH and Chinese Nephrology Association, help promote the Programme’s implementation, make efforts in the prevention and treatment of major diseases, and do real work for grassroots doctors and citizens.