Tibet Medical Industry: Doctors from across China recruited to provide medical care, training

World
Europe

03:05

Over the past six decades, Tibet medical sector has also grown, with the CPC Central Committee initiating programs to bring in doctors from across the country. CGTN's Omar Khan reports from the city of Linzhi, where medical practitioners from Guangdong Province are not only providing medical care, but are also training local Tibetan doctors.

Nearly 3,000 meters above sea level, and situated in China's remote and mountainous southwest, Linzhi People's Hospital has become one of the region's most prestigious medical institutions.

Established in 1966, the hospital boasts nearly 300 beds, and spans an area over 70-thousand square meters. Over 90 percent of the patients here are local Tibetans, including those from other ethnic minorities.

For people here, changes in the medical field have brought new life, and new hope.

OMAR KHAN LINZHI CITY, TIBET AUTONOMOUS REGION "60 years ago the region had merely 3 medical institutions. Fast-forward to today, nearly 15-hundred clinics and hospitals have been established. And perhaps more significant, is that Tibetans here are given subsidized, or sometimes even free, healthcare."

Nowadays a medical healthcare network is available in Tibet, combining traditional Chinese, Tibetan and Western methods. With a variety of treatments and capabilities now in place, people from across the region travel to Linzhi.

And for specific treatments, one doctor from Guangdong Province is making a big difference…

DR. HUANG XIAOZHONG CHIEF PHYSICIAN, LINZHI PEOPLE'S HOSPITAL "Our medical aid project started in 2015. It spanned 7 cities and areas of Tibet, including Lhasa. There are doctors from across the country. Doctors from different departments came as a group to help local hospitals improve their technical and medical capabilities. In the past, certain operations were not possible in Linzhi."

But Dr. Huang's contributions go beyond the operating room. The chief physician has taken two Tibetans under his wing as apprentices, with the ultimate goal of passing his knowledge on to local doctors. This form of tutelage was perhaps unthinkable in the past.

DR. HUANG XIAOZHONG CHIEF PHYSICIAN, LINZHI PEOPLE'S HOSPITAL "Our goal is to improve local doctors' abilities so that they can perform operations independently. Some of these operations are standard procedure at other hospitals. For border areas like Linzhi, keeping people healthy ensures stability. Local medical conditions and technical levels have been greatly improved."

And looking forward, Dr. Huang believes that the future will one day rest in the hands of the local Tibetan people.

DR. HUANG XIAOZHONG CHIEF PHYSICIAN, LINZHI PEOPLE'S HOSPITAL "We came here to mentor local doctors. We teach them step-by-step. Gradually they will know how to perform operations on their own. We hope to leave a local medical team that will never be taken away. They will continue to operate in the future after we leave, and they'll bring benefits to the local people."

And it's exactly those benefits for local people that matter the most. For most, trekking days to get to this top-tier hospital is a small price to pay, if it means getting the best care for loved ones. Omar Khan, CGTN, Linzhi, Tibet.