HEALTH - Living Abroad in Beijing - page 208

Hospital (B ě ij ī ng Ā nzh ē n Y ī yuàn). These hospitals all have VIP or international wards with
staff that have moderate to fluent English, and in many cases who have also been trained
overseas. The VIP or international section costs a lot more than the sections used by the
general public (a consultation downstairs might cost you RMB5-10, whereas upstairs time
with a doctor will cost around RMB100-300), but you're likely to have almost no wait, will
be treated in a more personal manner and in a more hygienic setting, and you'll also have
someone who will walk you through each step of the process. Wards here are also a lot
pricier than in the general area. For example, at the time of writing, a night at the China-
Japan Friendship Hospital started from RMB300 for a small standard ward and went up to
RMB3,800 for a posh deluxe suite.
Beijing Family United Clinic offers Shunyi residents easy access to international-quality medical
care for day-to-day issues.
Aside from the public hospitals, the government is also making a huge push to privatize
many of its facilities. Currently those used most by expats tend to be ob-gyn facilities for
childbirth. Again, inconsistency lurks in the private hospital area, so you do need to invest-
igate ahead of time which hospital is up to par. Some offer service and treatment that ap-
proximates what you get in the West, but reports also suggest that some of these facilities