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Special medical fund offered to heroes
By Huang Zhiling (China Daily)
Updated: 2006-01-24 06:01
CHENGDU: Heroes who are hurt while trying to save others from injury are to
receive free treatment at a hospital in Chengdu.
The fund at Chengdu No 1 Orthopaedics Hospital will also help to subsidise
any further care they need in the future.
It is part of an agreement signed with the Preparatory Committee of the
Chengdu Fund for People Helping Others in Need.
It is thought to be the first scheme of its kind in the country.
According to the agreement, when people are injured while helping others they
will initially pay for the cost of treatment at the State-owned hospital in
Chengdu's Qingyang District.
But the hospital will then report the matter to the preparatory committee.
After the committee verifies the case and informs the hospital, the hospital
will refund all the money.
It will remit the patient the registration fee and half of their medical
costs, and the committee will cover the rest of the costs.
The agreement will benefit every one injured while helping others in need. He
or she can benefit from the agreement as long as they are treated in the
hospital, even if they are injured outside Chengdu, said the committee.
The government-sponsored committee has a fund of 4.1 million yuan
(US$507,426).
According to the agreement, all citizens who have been awarded the title of
"Citizens who Helped People In Need" will receive preferential treatment for the
rest of their lives.
People who were awarded the honour by district governments will pay only 40
per cent of fees at the hospital, while those given the title by county or
municipal governments will pay just 20 per cent.
While visiting the hospital last Saturday, Yu Shaolin, deputy
secretary-general of the All-China Fund for People Helping Others in Need, said:
"This hospital merits study by other hospitals as it has broken the bottleneck
in the treatment of people injured while helping others."
As the Chengdu No 1 Orthopaedics Hospital is a specialized hospital, the
preparatory committee will work with Chengdu Health Bureau to select more
hospitals that will offer the special treatment.
In some parts of the country, people who are injured while helping others are
often not properly treated, which has hindered public enthusiasm for never
hesitating to do what is right, said State Councillor Zhou Yongkang at a
national meeting held last November to commend people who disregarded their own
safety to help others in need.
Zhou, who is also minister of Public Security, added that related departments
should co-operate to solve difficulties of people injured or killed while
helping others.
Late last month, Guiyang, capital of Southwest China's Guizhou Province,
enacted a law to protect people who help others in need.
They are eligible to receive a maximum award of 20,000 yuan (US$2,500). Under
the legislation, no hospital is permitted to delay their treatment if they are
injured.
When they receive first aid or are hospitalized, their registration, blood
transfusion, check-up and operation fees should be remitted.
People or workplaces that have benefited from their heroic deeds should cover
any remaining expenditure, according to the law.
(China Daily 01/24/2006 page3)
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