A Shanghai hospital conducts COVID-19 testing on its staffers on January 21, 2021. (photo: Yang Hui/GT)

 

China's National Health Commission (NHC) on Thursday decided to set up another national medical center for infectious diseases at a hospital in East China's Zhejiang Province following similar medical centers in Shanghai and Beijing in order to form and perfect a multi-center collaboration working mechanism in the country. 

The NHC announced the First Affiliated Hospital Zhejiang University School of Medicine as the main body of the center which is responsible for the daily operation and management of the medical center. It will invest in a certain amount of funds and specialized personnel to ensure that the medical center performs its duties and tasks. 

Previously, in April, the NHC decided to establish medical centers for infectious diseases at the Huashan Hospital Affiliated to Fudan University in Shanghai and Beijing Ditan Hospital Capital Medical University in Beijing.

According to the NHC's announcement, the three infectious diseases medical centers will establish a multi-center collaboration working mechanism with a mode of collaboration between the southern and northern regions based on their complementary advantages. 

The new medical center for infectious diseases set up at the hospital is part of a national infectious diseases medical center and regional treatment center project proposed by the NHC in 2019, an official surnamed Zhu from the Health Commission of Zhejiang Province told the Global Times on Thursday. 

"The new medical center at the First Affiliated Hospital Zhejiang University School of Medicine is also the outcome of the NHC's proposal which sets out to establish collaboration between centers in different regions," Zhu said. 

The NHC released a series of standards last September so that infectious disease centers meet the higher requirements for epidemic prevention and control and for in-depth research on infectious diseases. 

Infectious disease is one of the eight specialized categories of the national medical center project which also includes respiratory medicine and public health. 

According to the implementation plan of the setup of the national medical centers and national medical treatment centers, the centers vow to promote the vertical and horizontal flow of high-quality medical resources and improve overall and regional medical service levels across the country.