The Shenzhen Municipal Public Health Bureau said the new hospitals, eight in Bao'an and seven in Longgang, would be ready in one year. Because they would target migrant workers, they would be cheaper than existing hospitals.

The 15 hospitals will have 80 to 90 beds each and will be situated in industrial zones where there are big populations of migrant workers.

The bureau said the hospitals would provide quality care.

Meanwhile, another new public hospital would be established in Shangmeilin in Futian District, the bureau said.

It earlier approved the establishment of another 160 clinics in Longgang, Bao'an and Nanshan districts.

Shenzhen's 1,174 medical institutions are in Luohu, Futian and Nanshan districts inside the special economic zone (SEZ) and in downtown of Bao'an and Longgang districts outside the SEZ.

Because they lacked money and medical awareness, migrant workers were subject to poor medical treatment as they tended to see doctors at illegal private clinics, which charge low fees.

(Shenzhen Daily August 6, 2004)