A local political adviser of Shanghai yesterday called for better pay and improved working conditions for the pediatricians in a bid to stem an exodus of professionals from Shanghai's health care system and ensure the sector's continued development.
"Though there is a huge demand for pediatricians, with more than 200,000 babies born in Shanghai every year, there are concerns about the future of the service as the work is considered high-stress, high-risk and low-paid," Zhou Beihua told the 12th annual session of the Shanghai Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, of which she is a member.
Most doctors see between 80 and 100 children a day, which means they invariably end up having to work overtime, said Zhou, who is pediatrician herself.
Aside from the difficulties involved with dealing with such large volumes, stress levels tend to be higher among young patients, and their parents and guardians, which adds to the pressure on the doctors, she said.
"Pediatricians have to make sure that both the children and their parents understand exactly what is going on, and that takes time," she said.
"As a result, hospitals make less money from pediatric services so they pay their pediatricians less. In most local general hospitals, pediatricians earn 20 to 50 less than their peers in other areas," she said.
Over the past five years, more than 40 pediatricians in Shanghai have left the profession, and only a fraction of those have been replaced, Zhou said, adding that pediatric departments have become marginalized in many general hospitals.
At Xuhui District Central Hospital, for example, its two pediatricians work an average of six hours overtime every day, she said.
Similarly, the Number 9 People's Hospital now offers pediatric services only intermittently, as it has been without a resident child doctor for seven years.
Ironically, despite the sector's fall from favor — even medical schools have reported a dip in the number of students pursuing pediatrics — the demand for such services is rising rapidly, Zhou said.
The recent changes to the family panning regulations — which mean all couples can now have two children — are expected to result in at least 20,000 more babies being born in Shanghai every year, she said.
It is essential, therefore, that the government acknowledges the situation and invests appropriately in education and research, and makes a greater effort to attract pediatricians from outside the city to come and work in Shanghai, she said.
"But even that will take time to bear fruit, so it is also vital that efforts are made now to stop those people already working in the sector from leaving," she said.
That means increased spending on children's hospitals and pediatric departments within general hospitals, and significant pay rises for the doctors themselves, she said.
The Shanghai government said last week that it plans to recruit a further 300 to 500 pediatricians by 2020, and increase its investment in pediatrics departments.
