A UK university is helping to train Chinese GPs. This is why

For years Mr Li, aged 62 and based in the Daxing district in greater Beijing, had excessive thirst and fatigue and blurred vision. Until last year the retired farmer, who now lives with his adult daughter in the high rise towers of Daxing New Town, was one of China’s estimated 56 million “silent diabetics.” These are patients whose condition had gone undiagnosed and untreated because of a lack of access to community based primary care.

Like many Chinese people, Li distrusted primary care unless it was delivered in a hospital setting. “When you’re sick, you travel to the best hospital—even if it’s miles away. They treat you and you leave,” says Li—a mindset that has long been typical in China.

The country’s healthcare system is a public-private hybrid. GP consultations are largely funded through government subsidies and social health insurance schemes, with out-of-pocket payments levied for treatments. Though China achieved near universal healthcare insurance coverage in 2011, many still struggle to access high quality care, including those in rural areas and the country’s 297.5 million migrant workers.1 And, as the population ages, the situation is worsening.