Beijing's hospitals overwhelmed by flu epidemic
By Global Times, Published: 2017-12-29 15:31:58
Photo: Li Hao/GT
Editor's Note:
The perennial overcrowding problem of Beijing's hospitals has been worsened by a flu outbreak ahead of the New Year holidays.

The temperature drops to -7 Celsius at 11.30pm outside the gate of the Beijing Children's Hospital emergency center where hundreds of parents scramble for tickets for next-day appointments.


At 1 am on December 29, out-of-town patients taking intravenous drips at Peking Union Medical College Hospital are sleeping on the ground.


Beijing's 144 health institutes reported higher incidences of flu than in the same period last year, Pang Xinghuo, deputy director of Beijing's municipal center for disease control and prevention told a press conference on Thursday.


Medical resources and health personnel are unevenly distributed in China. Hospitals in Beijing have long suffered from overcrowding as out-of-town patients across the country come to Beijing to see doctors.



Photo: Li Hao/GT
Photo: Li Hao/GT
Photo: Li Hao/GT
Photo: Li Hao/GT
Photo: Li Hao/GT
Photo: Li Hao/GT
Photo: Li Hao/GT
Photo: Li Hao/GT
Photo: Li Hao/GT
Photo: Li Hao/GT
Photo: Li Hao/GT
Photo: Li Hao/GT
Photo: Li Hao/GT
Photo: Li Hao/GT