No matter where you live, there could be certain inevitable occasions when you’ll need to visit a doctor. If you are living in an English-speaking country, maybe you won’t face language obstacles. But if you are living/working in China, the language issues are likely to be omnipresent. Imagine you, a foreigner, communicating with a Chinese doctor in Mandarin? It won’t be that easy! I had a similar situation when I visited a Chinese hospital (医院, yīyuàn) in Suzhou city (July, 2018).
In this post I intend to share some important personal observations about visiting a hospital in China. Although my observations are specific to Suzhou University hospital, the overall scenario could be similar to other Chinese hospitals. I sincerely hope that after reading this post you’d get a better picture about using (at least) basic healthcare facilities in China.
Why did I visit hospital?
Well, in July 2018 I was travelling to the Huangshan mountains (Anhui province in China). I visited the Hot Springs and took showers in the hot water (~40’C). Everything was great. The next day when I woke up, I felt itching in my private parts. After looking into the internet pics/articles, I was a bit worried about some weird infection (I always play safe, but still, who knows?). I didn’t want to risk anything and decided to visit a hospital in Suzhou (after returning from the Huangshan trip).
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My hospital
Initially, I didn’t know much about any hospital in Suzhou. After asking my colleagues, I decided to visit Suzhou University hospital. Here are the official names of the hospital (in English, Chinese, pinyin)-
- The First Affiliated Hospital of Suzhou University (Shiyan Street Campus),
- 苏州大学附属第一医院(十梓街院区,
- Sūzhōu dàxué fùshǔ dì yī yīyuàn (shí zǐ jiē yuàn qū).
The nearest subway station is Xiang Men (相门, Xiāng mén).
Hospital Ambience
The hospital is very big in terms of number of departments, medical facilities, rooms, etc. But the hospital maintenance needs to be improved. The cleanliness could have been better. For example, the toilets were not very clean. In some places, it looked a bit darker. Often times, I struggled to find drinking water.
I Wasted time finding doctor
When I reached the hospital, I had absolutely no idea how to get an appointment with a relevant doctor. In fact, I didn’t know who’d a suitable doctor for my case be! The receptionist at the hospital hardly spoke any English. I met a couple of doctors who were kind enough and suggested me to go to the 门诊 (Ménzhěn, outpatient department). I got WeChat of a doctor who was very friendly and helped me by texting.
outpatient department (OPD)
I came to OPD by reading the signboards and went to the 3rd floor (as suggested by the doctor on WeChat) to find a suitable doctor. But practically, I was still lost. Then someone suggested me to first register at the hospital – but I didn’t know exactly how and where to complete the registration formalities.
Registration at Hospital
Finally, at the ground floor of OPD, I found the registration counter. There were multiple counters, each accompanied by a long waiting queue. Let me show you a photo of the registration counter at the First Affiliated Hospital of Suzhou University–
Anyways, I joined a queue and waited for my turn. Meanwhile, I also asked (using Google Translate App) the person next to me about the registration and other details.
My turn came after 15minutes of waiting. The receptionist didn’t speak English, but I used Google Translator to communicate with her. She asked for my passport and handed me a simple registration form. The receptionist also asked if I wanted to see a general physician (普通, Pǔtōng) or specialist (专家, Zhuānjiā) – I said, ‘the specialist’. I got an appointment with a doctor in the Urology Department. My doctor appointment waiting queue number was mentioned on the receipt. Total fee paid at the registration counter- RMB 12 (by Alipay).
Registration key points:
- Bring your passport,
- Register and clearly state if you wish to see a specialist or a generalist,
- The receptionist will give you an appointment with a doctor,
- Go to the relevant department and wait for the doctor,
- The doctors may be available from 8.00 to 17.00,
- The registration/appointment booking counters are usually open from 7.45 to 16.00.
Lunch timing
The lunch timings are 11.30 to 13.30. No doctor would be available during the lunch period (not talking about the emergency services).
By the time I got an appointment, it was already 12.00, and I had not other option than to wait until the lunch period was over.
Then came the doctor
Well, the doctor was available at 13.30 onward. I realized that there was only one doctor on duty in the whole Urology department. Guess why? It was Sunday! On weekends, only a few doctors would be available.
Soon I learnt that my medical problem (itching) had nothing to do with the Urology department. I was advised to visit another department.
reappointment
I came to the ground floor, queued again, and got a second appointment. I was refunded earlier paid RMB 12, and was asked to pay a new fee, RMB 22. My queue number was 1073 (effectively 73 – but still 72 people on queue front ahead of me).
Waiting queue
Again, I started waiting for my turn to meet the doctor. There were too many people waiting to meet different doctors. The number of chairs in the waiting area hasn’t been enough. Some parents came with their kids who were often making a lot of noise.
Also, some of the waiting patients consistently entered into the doctor’s chamber rather than waiting outside – there could have been a better discipline among the waiting patient. Moreover, the medical examination was supposed to be a private affair, but the waiting patients seemed to hardly care about it. I mean, since we all had a unique waiting number, why not just wait outside the chamber rather than disturbing the doctor?
Inside the doctor’s chamber
Finally, I met the doctor at 16.45. I requested the doctor to ask the other patients to kindly leave the chamber. Soon, there was a peaceful atmosphere in the room. The doctor even called another English-speaking doctor to further help me. I was told that the inflammation was caused due to swimming in the Hot Springs – I was prescribed a cream and some pain killer pills.
I purchased medicines in the basement of the same hospital for RMB 72 (paid by WeChat) and headed back to home.
A long day was coming to an end!
Cost of a medical Surgery in China
When I shared this post in a Facebook group, a reader commented the following question on the shared post:
How much does it cost for a foreigner in the case of surgery or stuff like broken limbs?
I passed on the query to the same doctor on WeChat. Here is what she replied to me-
Basically, the cost would vary depending on the nature of an injury.
In summary, I think visiting a Chinese hospital could be a unique experience for foreigners. In particular, if you go to a government hospital, the crowd is expected to be higher and be prepared to face language problems. However, the doctor’s fee is likely to be nominal, if not totally free. The prescribed medicines are usually affordable (unless you have some serious medical condition). Not to mention, the doctors are knowledgeable and super friendly.
That’s all in this post about a foreigner’s guide to visit a Chinese doctor and Chinese hospital.
If you have any specific question about visiting doctors/hospital in China, feel free to post in our forum so that others could also contribute and learn. For regular updates like us on Facebook, or follow on Twitter!
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Wish you loads of health, happiness and prosperity!
Cheers!
Last updated: Saturday, June 6, 2020