The National Health Commission clarifies that a long-term mechanism for the reserve of medical rescue materials and equipment will be implemented in the future

On March 4, relevant officials from the National Health Commission stated at the press conference of the State Council's joint prevention and control mechanism that sophisticated equipment played a crucial role in frontline treatment; the commission is cooperating with relevant departments to study a long-term mechanism for the reserve of medical treatment materials and equipment.

High-end equipment played an important role in the treatment.

Mao Qun'an, director of the Planning Department of the National Health Commission, said that in the clinical treatment of this novel coronavirus pneumonia, high-end equipment such as ventilators, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), P3 mobile laboratories, and mobile CTs were all put into the treatment work and played an important role. Ventilators and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) are mainly used to provide respiratory support for critically ill patients; P3 mobile laboratories provide nucleic acid testing for Fangcang hospitals. Because they are mobile, they can be driven wherever needed to quickly complete testing tasks; mobile CTs provide CT examinations for Fangcang hospitals, as they are flexible, mobile, efficient, and convenient, allowing patients to undergo CT examinations nearby. It is understood that a chest CT examination takes about less than 3 minutes. The application of this high-end equipment has played a very important role in meeting the needs of frontline treatment. Next, the Health Commission will, in accordance with the relevant requirements of the State Council's joint prevention and control mechanism, coordinate with relevant units to meet needs, guarantee the supply of medical equipment, especially medical equipment for critically ill patients, and allocate them precisely and reasonably to distribute these equipment to relevant medical institutions.

Medical institutions usually need to follow established procedures when purchasing medical equipment, especially for high-value equipment; the state clearly stipulates classified and hierarchical configurations. On January 26, the Ministry of Finance issued the "Notice on the Facilitation of Procurement for Epidemic Prevention and Control," establishing a "green channel" for the procurement of materials used in epidemic prevention to ensure that relevant medical institutions can quickly purchase the necessary medical equipment for epidemic prevention. Mao Qun'an said that the "green channel" ensured the convenience of medical equipment procurement throughout the epidemic prevention process, played a very good role, and timely ensured the needs of treatment.

Researching a long-term mechanism for medical emergency reserves is underway.

To cope with the COVID-19 epidemic, relevant enterprises have increased production capacity to produce important medical treatment equipment to meet the treatment needs of medical institutions. However, what will happen to this important medical treatment equipment after the epidemic? In this regard, Mao Qun'an said that during this epidemic prevention and control process, governments at all levels have purchased, requisitioned, and received a large number of social donations of medical equipment, which are currently concentrated in designated medical institutions in Hubei and Wuhan. After the epidemic, in order to make reasonable use of relevant medical equipment, under the guidance of the central leading group, the Health Commission is cooperating with the NDRC and Hubei Province to study and formulate a disposal plan for medical equipment after the epidemic, effectively strengthening the unified management and scientific allocation of epidemic emergency medical equipment. At the same time, this opportunity is also used to improve the equipment level of hospitals and primary-level medical and health institutions in Hubei Province.

Mao Qun'an said that emergency reserves are essential for responding to various emergencies, and shortcomings and deficiencies were exposed during the entire prevention and control process of the COVID-19 epidemic. How should emergency reserve work be met and done according to the needs of epidemic prevention? The National Health Commission, together with relevant departments, is studying a long-term mechanism for the reserve of medical treatment materials and equipment in accordance with the decisions and deployments of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, which is very necessary for dealing with various emergencies in the future.