“Seeing the hospital from the height of one meter”: Six departments promote the construction of child-friendly hospitals
On January 9th, 2025, the National Health Commission, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Finance, the National Healthcare Security Administration, and the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine jointly released the “Opinions on the Construction of Child-Friendly Hospitals.”
The Opinions propose to guide medical institutions providing children’s healthcare services, including maternal and child healthcare institutions, children’s hospitals, general hospitals, and traditional Chinese medicine hospitals (including integrated Chinese and Western medicine hospitals and ethnic medicine hospitals), to actively carry out the construction of child-friendly hospitals. By 2030, the proportion of child-friendly hospitals in these medical institutions is expected to reach more than 90%. The Opinions encourage township health centers, community health service centers, and other primary medical and health care institutions to refer to the content and guidelines of child-friendly hospital construction and actively carry out child-friendly institution construction in light of their actual conditions. By 2030, a number of child-friendly institutions will be established.
The Opinions require the design, planning, and reconstruction of medical institutions, incorporating the perspective of children at a height of one meter in order to create a convenient, comfortable, and interesting medical treatment space that meets the psychological characteristics of children and their physical needs. The buildings should be designed in accordance with children’s safety requirements. The external design and internal decoration of medical institution buildings should incorporate interesting design elements and utilize a variety of colors to create a relaxed and enjoyable treatment environment for children and alleviate their anxiety during treatment. In response to the characteristic of children accompanying more people during medical treatment, the area of corridors, waiting rooms, and rest areas should be appropriately increased. “Game corners” and “reading spaces” should be set up within the hospital compound, equipped with convenient facilities such as drinking water, dining, and retail, to enhance the affability and convenience of hospitals.
The Opinions also mention that medical institutions should focus on planning the layout of outpatient clinics, optimizing treatment paths, and setting up “one-stop” service centers for consultation, appointment scheduling, payment, inquiry, etc. with clear signboards to reduce disorderly flow and minimize the running around for patients and their families. The outpatient areas should be designed and renovated with consideration for children’s needs. For example, the height of treatment desks and blood collection windows should be appropriately reduced. Amenities such as maternal rooms, baby grooming tables, child seats, family toilets equipped with baby-specific toilets facilities and sinks should be provided in the treatment areas for children’s convenience. The areas for childcare and child disease treatment should be divided with ventilation and disinfection measures implemented to prevent hospital infections.
The Opinions require local areas to refine their work requirements in light of actual conditions while encouraging institutions to take the lead with a focus on maternal and child healthcare institutions, children’s hospitals, general hospitals, and traditional Chinese medicine hospitals. Policy support should be given by health care departments such as health, education, healthcare security administration agencies in the construction of child-friendly hospitals. Development and reform departments as well as financial departments should implement relevant investment policies accordingly.
Local areas are encouraged to guide medical institutions to strengthen construction in accordance with the “Guidelines for the Construction of Child-Friendly Hospitals”. After meeting the construction requirements specified in the guidelines, medical institutions should submit their construction results and relevant materials to the local county-level health administrative department. County-level and above health administrative departments should strengthen business guidance and management related to child-friendly hospital construction while recognizing outstanding achievements in work and institutions with good public praise through public notice. The national health commission will monitor the construction status of child-friendly hospitals along with relevant departments at national level at appropriate times and summarize construction achievements across regions in a timely manner.
