Doctors from Urumqi, Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, offer free medical services in Pishan county of Hotan prefecture. [Photo provided to CHINA DAILY] In a remote part of Xinjiang, a county hospital gets a professional makeover In May last year, doctors told Awanisa Mahsut that she had a brain tumor. After suffering a stroke, Awanisa, who lives in the southwestern part of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, planned to go to Urumqi, the regional capital, for treatment, but she changed her mind when she heard there was an expert from Urumqi working at a local hospital. Akbar Yalkun, 45, a neurosurgeon with more than 20 years' experience in Urumqi, gave Awanisa hope. One of 13 medics assigned to Pishan county, he provides medical support as part of an assistance program initiated by his home hospital in May. The program aims to improve management and medical treatment at the smaller hospital by drawing on the experience of a team of doctors and administrators on loan from Urumqi. The treatment level of neurosurgery was quite low before I came. Few doctors can perform this kind of operation here, Akbar said. If there are related conditions, patients generally need to be transferred to hospitals in big cities. Awanisa's home - Pishan county - is one of the most impoverished and remote areas in Xinjiang. It lacks well-trained doctors, and the hospital doesn't have enough money to buy modern equipment. As a result, patients often find it difficult to get the care they need. The poor medical service often means that seriously ill patients would rather spend more money and travel farther to Hotan or Urumqi to see a doctor, rather than receive treatment locally. One of my relatives told me that Dr Akbar, one of the best neurosurgeons in the region, is at the hospital in our county, Awanisa said. I was relieved, not only because he was there, but also my insurance covered most of the treatment at the local hospital. The operation was successful. At a follow-up consultation on March 1, Akbar told Awanisa she had fully recovered. The operation would have cost her at least 40,000 yuan ($6,000) in Urumqi, but she spent less than 10,000 yuan in her hometown. In March last year, after investigating the Pishan county hospital, Manglek Syit, vice-chairman of the autonomous region, ordered the hospital in Urumqi to improve the healthcare situation in Pishan county. Before we came here, it could not be called a modern hospital. You could hardly tell the difference between the outpatient and inpatient departments, said Yerzat Yerzhan, an administrative staff member of the team. To provide an effective healthcare system, the hospital needed to change from its registration office up. The regional health commission arranged for the hospital in Urumqi to launch a program giving all-around help to Pishan county. Bahtiyar Kerem, a specialist in critical care, was one of the first doctors to arrive. Our team members normally live and work in Urumqi, but after learning about the medical conditions here, we came without hesitation, he said. wide rubber braceletsprinted-wristband80s rubber braceletssilicone wristbandssilicone wristbands australia
Whampoa Gardens estate in Hung Hom. [PAUL YEUNG / BLOOMBERG] Hong Kong is a city of stark financial contrasts, being home to luxury-brand flagship outlets and also to three in 10 people living in public housing heavily subsidized by the government. Despite being helped financially, the cost of living weighs heavily on this group. According to the Census and Statistics Department, they paid rent of HK$1,500 ($191) on average in 2016, an increase of HK$190 on 2006. For 50 percent of the city's 7 million people living in private housing, their rent nearly doubled from HK$5,100 to HK$10,000 over the same period. The much lower rents for public housing residents have provided them with a crumb of comfort. In the 2014-15 financial year, spending on food took up HK$6,159, or 46 percent, of their monthly household expenditure, according to a survey carried out by the department every five years. Eating lunch in cha chaan tengs, or Hong Kong-style diners, costs HK$50 per person on average. A bottle of water in a convenience store costs more than HK$7, while a small bottle of cola costs about HK$9. Even cooking at home is not cheap for those with little money. According to a survey in 2016 by the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions, it cost HK$114 to make a single dinner such as fish or pork with vegetables. A pack of cigarettes in the city costs nearly HK$60 and a small bottle of imported beer HK$18. Those living in private housing spend more on food a month - HK$8,324 - but it only takes 23 percent of their monthly expenditure compared with those living in subsidized public housing. Tenants in public housing pay HK$1,049 a month on average on public transportation, while those in private accommodations spend HK$2,849 to get about. A train journey from Lo Wu on the border with the Chinese mainland to Central district on Hong Kong Island costs HK$49. Hailing a taxi costs HK$24 for the first kilometer and HK$8.50 for each ensuing kilometer. For drivers, 1 liter of gasoline costs HK$15.80 and the registration fee for a vehicle such as a new electric Volkswagen e-Golf can be as high as HK$199,480 - more than 60 percent of the retail price of HK$326,980. black rubber bracelets meaningcustom-silicon-wristbandsfigured-wristbandsilicone wristbandscolor-wristbands<%2fcenter>
