A father, holding his child, waits in line to make an appointment at an expert clinic within the Beijing Children's Hospital on Friday. [China Daily]

Since he arrived in Beijing four days ago seeking medical help for his son, Gong from Central China's Henan province has done nothing but wait.

And wait.

"I've done nothing these past few days, just waiting in line to get an appointment with an expert to treat my sick child," said Gong as he stood in line at Beijing Children's Hospital.

His son, Gong Xiaozhen, has not been able to walk since being diagnosed with hand, foot and mouth disease at a local hospital in June, he told China Daily on Friday.

Yet Gong is not the only anxious parent seeking treatment for his child at China's top children's hospital.

Despite the cold spell that sent temperatures dropping on Wednesday, parents from across the country have been standing in line overnight, hoping to get registered by the expert clinic, Xinhua News Agency reported.

"This situation had been ongoing for many years," a staff member with the information desk at the hospital, told China Daily.

"Ninety percent of parents waiting in line out there are not local residents".

According to staff, security guards gave out numbers to allow the parents to register the next day and keep them out of the cold.

On several days this month, more than 8,000 patients arrived at the hospital - close to its record high. The line on Wednesday even extended to the road outside the hospital, according to Xinhua.

Hospitals in Beijing can provide approximately 1.78 million appointments with expert clinics, however, the number of people showing up at Beijing's hospitals has been as high as 138 million, many expecting medical consultation and treatment from expert clinics.

Hu Shanlian, a professor of public health at Shanghai-based Fudan University, said that children's diseases are usually serious, accompanied by convulsions, trembling or even falling into a coma.

"The parents spare no effort and money to cure their children, since now many families have just one child," he said.

Dai Yaohua, a senior researcher with the Beijing-based Capital Institute of Pediatrics and a counselor with the World Health Organization, told China Daily that some patients have blind faith in doctors and medicines at the children's hospital in the capital.

"People usually have the misconception that medicines issued by famous hospitals or hospitals specializing in children's diseases are superior," Dai said, "which is not true."

But Dai admitted that hospitals outside big cities, especially those in counties and villages, are short of medical professionals and medicines, especially for children.

Dai said China should train more children's medical professionals, both in medical schools and through in-service training.

(China Daily December 25, 2010)