Shanghai hospitals dealing with jump in patients as temp soar

A little boy in just his undergarment walks in the shade of a huge umbrella in downtown Shanghai yesterday. With the unrelenting summer heat, local hospitals are forced to deal with a jump in patients. But Typhoon Matmo is expected to bring down the mercury this week. — Wang Rongjiang/Shanghai Daily

With scorching summer temperatures, local hospitals are reporting an increase in the number of patients.

Zhongshan, Huashan, Renji, Ruijin and Xinhua hospitals all recorded a daily average of more than 10,000 patients. Xinhua and Huashan hospitals reported a high of 15,000 and 12,000 patients respectively on Monday.

Yu Fei, an official with Shanghai Tenth People's Hospital, told Shanghai Daily that most of the patients came with stomach and intestine complaints, which was 5 to 7 percent more than usual.

"But so far we haven't received many patients who suffered from heat stroke," Yu said.

An official with Ruijin Hospital said they didn't have many cases of heat stroke or even stomach and intestine complaints but they noticed a rise in the number of sun burn cases. "People dress less in summer," she said explaining the possible reasons for burns.

The Children's Hospital of Fudan University is reporting an average of 7,500 children per day who are receiving treatment at the hospital. That was a 20 percent jump than normal.

Xinhua Hospital said the daily average number of children it was treating was between 3,200 and 3,600 — a high for the hospital.

Ruijin Hospital opens its doors at 5:45am, 15 minutes earlier as the patients numbers jumped. They also added an extra counter to deal with the excess crowd.

The hospital has also posted more medics to different departments between 6pm to 10pm to deal with the "night rush."

Nurses at the counters are being advised to help deal with patients from 6pm to 8pm every day and provide consultations. Ruijin Hospital has also come up with a contingency plans for patients with heat stroke.

Huashan Hospital is also opening early for registration and closing deal to deal with an influx of patients.

The city's 240-plus community health service centers are also bracing themselves to deal summer problems. In Putuo District, the centers are helping the elderly with medicines, offering residents free medical treatments and consultation at least once a month.