To provide residents with quality healthcare service near their home, the National Health and Family Planning Commission (NHFPC), the State Administration of Traditional Medicine of the PRC, and the health department of the general logistics department of PLA will annually launch a free clinic week nationwide on the third week of September.

This year’s free clinic week takes place from September 14 to 20. The week’s opening ceremony was held in Yudu county, Jiangxi province, on September 14. The location was the start of the Long March (1934-1936) by the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army. Li Bin, minister of the NHFPC, attended the ceremony. A national medical team composed of experts from Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Peking University People’s Hospital, Guang’anmen Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Science, Beijing Children’s Hospital and Chinese People’s Liberation Army No 94 Hospital will provide healthcare service to the residents in the county.

According to the schedule, on September 14, each prefecture-level city (including provincial cities) and each county (county-level city) held one-day free clinics in at least one public place to offer consultations about common diseases and chronic diseases, preliminary diagnosis and treatment, as well as popularizing common medical knowledge. During the free clinic week, second-level hospitals should organize medical teams to go to communities and villages, providing free clinics for the local people. The NHFPC, the State Administration of Traditional Medicine and the general logistics department of the PLA will also organize eight national medical teams to open free clinics in impoverished areas such as the Yanshan-Taihang Mountain area and Luoxiao Mountain area.

To ensure the effect, the free clinic week will be improved in various ways this year to bring more practice medical advice to people. Medical staff will go to schools, squares, parks and construction fields to provide healthcare services for different people.

It is expected that more than 20,000 medical institutions will participate in this year’s free clinic week, including second-level hospitals, community healthcare centers, and health clinics in towns and villages. It will involve doctors, nurses, pharmacists and medical technicians, which will benefit tens of millions of people.