On Thursday, September 20th at Foshan Chancheng Central Hospital (佛山市禅城中心医院), a formal hospital visit was held with a delegation of 19 Foshan expatriate business owners. The aim of this occasion was the pre-opening of the first International Healthcare Unit – IHCU, in Foshan.

 

 

The hospital visit was co-organized by the hospital staff and by Federica Bertozzi, one of Foshan’s International Investment Promotion Specialists.  

 

Good healthcare is accessible to the public in Foshan, as the city counts several private and public hospitals that are well-known both at provincial and national level, providing high-quality services. However, there has not been any international hospital serving the needs of the local expatriate community that had to travel to the nearby city of Guangzhou to seek medical services. Despite the great services provided by the local hospitals, the lack of an international healthcare hub and English-speaking personnel, makes it difficult for expats to communicate with regional hospital staff. Therefore, expatriate community has difficulty in getting international medical services in Foshan for a long time.

 

It is from this urge that Foshan Chancheng Central Hospital hired the first foreign doctor in Foshan, who has since then been working side by side with the hospital management to develop the International Healthcare Unit project. To implement the IHCU project, the hospital is providing English classes for its medical staff and is trying to partner with a couple of insurance groups to provide the right economic coverage for each medical case. 

 

The International Healthcare Unit will start its operation on October 2018 and will use Foshan Chancheng Central Hospital’s top-notch facilities. The hospital is also conveniently located from a transportation point of view. The Shiwan metro station, one of the many new metro stops of Foshan Line 2, is planned to open soon right across the street.

 

The International Healthcare Unit is going to cater the needs of a constantly broadening international community and will make Foshan a more foreign-friendly city in the PRD and in China as a whole. 

 

(Federica)