Patients receive medical treatment at the hospital. [Ye Xiaolin / chinadaily.com.cn]

Support from Shanghai medics has helped those working at a hospital in Danzhou, Hainan province, acquire the ability to use 112 new medical technologies over the past three years.

In June 2017, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital started a five-year medical cooperation arrangement with Hainan Western Central Hospital to help residents of the island's northwest enjoy better healthcare services, Zhang Shaoming, executive president of the Hainan hospital, said.

"Keeping healthy is a key guarantee for people to live better lives," said Zhang, who is also a medical expert from the Shanghai hospital. "Offering help for patients and those with great medical needs is our responsibility as doctors."

With the help of more than 10 medical professionals from Shanghai, the hospital in Hainan has made substantial progress in treating various diseases, including cancers and hearing and vision disorders. The pool of local medical talent has also expanded, he said.

"When I arrived in Hainan three years ago, I found few doctors here left the province to communicate with others and learn advanced medical technologies," Zhang said. "Therefore, many patients had to go other cities to seek better treatment."

Wu Shaofei, who visited the hospital to donate blood, said some of her friends and family members had to go to Guangzhou province to see doctors when they had serious diseases in the past, which was inconvenient and expensive.

"But with the cooperation between the two hospitals, we don't need to go out of Hainan, or even Danzhou," she said. "Most illnesses can be treated in the province and our local medical environment has been improved."

Chen Qiuping, a patient at the hospital, said, "It's convenient for me to have better healthcare near home, and the online booking and payment services provided by the hospital save me lots of time."

Zhang said exchanges between doctors in Hainan and those in first-tier cities have become more frequent, and more Hainan medics have been given opportunities to learn advanced medical technologies in other places.

Zhang Shaoming, executive president of Hainan Western Central Hospital. [Ye Xiaolin / chinadaily.com.cn]

"I hope the building of the Hainan Free Trade Port will improve the local medical environment, and I believe better healthcare here will also contribute to boosting the port's development," he said.

On June 1, China released a master plan for the Hainan Free Trade Port, aiming to build the whole of Hainan Island into a globally influential high-level free trade port by the middle of the century.