China falls short on pediatric care, says official  

中国儿科医师缺口20万 “儿科学院”望缓解医荒

儿科医疗服务日益增长的需求与儿科医学现状已严重不对称，比照发达国家标准，中国至少还缺少20万儿科医师。”中国医师协会副会长兼儿科医师分会会长朱宗涵24日在长沙表示，“建立适合中国特色的儿科医学体系十分必要。”

Changsha (CNS) -- China's current pediatric medical services are insufficient to meet increasing demand, said Zhu Zonghan, chairman of the China Pediatric Association, on Saturday.

"There is a shortage of 200,000 pediatricians that meet the standard of developed countries," Zhu said at a pediatrics seminar in Changsha, Hunan Province.

According to statistics, there are only 68 children's hospitals in the country, accounting for 0.42 percent of all the medical institutions here, and there are only 258,000 beds for children, or 6.4 percent of the total, said Zhu. Moreover, the country has only seen a growth of 5,000 pediatricians in over 15 years, he added.

To solve the problem, our hospital is cooperating with medical schools to train more pediatricians, said Zhu Yimin, president of the Hunan Provincial Children's Hospital.