Qin Boyong, vice-chairwoman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and executive vice-chairwoman of the China National Democratic Construction Association Central Committee, led a team of CPPCC National Committee members on an inspection trip to Northeast China's Liaoning province from Oct 21 to 25. The inspection focused on enhancing the capacity of disease prevention and treatment and health management at the grassroots level. 

The team visited hospitals and clinics at municipal, county and village levels in the cities of Dalian, Dandong and Shenyang, engaging in discussions with healthcare professionals, patients and local officials.

The team commended Liaoning for prioritizing people's health, promoting the overall continuity of medical and health services with a focus on community-level development, and achieving progress in improving primary-level capacity for disease prevention and treatment and health management. 

The team emphasized the need for local governments to assume responsibilities and strengthen support for the grassroots healthcare system. Efforts are needed to channel quality medical resources to the grassroots level, and further refine medical insurance and pricing policies to better support grassroots medical institutions, enabling more treatment for common, chronic and rehabilitation cases to be handled at the grassroots level, they said.

They also highlighted the role of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in grassroots healthcare, calling for broader application of TCM's simple, affordable and effective techniques to invigorate primary healthcare services.