Shanghai Municipal Health Bureau has issued guidelines for a pilot program to set up hospice centers in each of the city's 17 districts by September 14, local media reported Tuesday.

The pilot program is one of the city's first steps toward developing end-of-life care in the city, where hospitals can't handle the burden of terminally ill patients.

Some 36,000 terminal patients need hospice care in the  city every year, according to the local health bureau. However, there are only two hospitals with 50 beds in total devoted to hospice care in the city.

Some patients who require care but can't get one of those beds can obtain a regular hospital bed, but most end up at home.

Most top-tier hospitals are already overloaded with patients and can't afford the demands of hospice care, said Cheng Wenwu, director of hospice care at the Shanghai Cancer Center.

"It's about the distribution of medical resources," Cheng told the Global Times.

The guidelines advise every local district to set up at least one hospice center at a specific community health center that is capable of providing care to both terminally ill patients and their family members.

Under the guidelines, a hospice center must have at least 10 beds designated for end-of-life care along with at least two doctors and four registered nurses, according to the health bureau.

Hospices were also advised to obtain support from medical social workers and volunteers.

Regardless of whether they spend their last days at home or in a hospital, many terminally ill patients need professional end-of-life care to ease their physical and psychological pain, said Qiang Ruizhen, an official with the Yangpu district health bureau.

Shanghai Vice Mayor Shen Xiaoming has suggested that all local community health centers and top-tier hospitals have the capability to provide hospice care within three years, according to the health bureau's website.