SHENYANG: The first international medical clinic has opened in Liaoning, offering medical services in several languages to about 20,000 foreigners based in the province.

The center is in Shengjing Hospital in Shenyang and staffed by about 90 doctors and nurses. It offers various medical services including gynecology, surgery and paediatrics.

Zhang Chengpu, vice-president of Shengjing Hospital.

He said the clinic, which has just officially opened, began accepting its first clients about three months ago.

"Besides English, our center can provide service in German, Japanese, Spanish and Korean," Zhang said.

"The center has now signed agreements on the provision of medical service with many foreign companies and organizations in Liaoning, such as BMW, European Union Chamber of Commerce in China (EUCCC) and the Association of Koreans in Shenyang," said Zhang.

Stephen B. Wickman, Consul General of the US Consulate in Shenyang, said: "The opening of the center symbolizes that Liaoning is becoming more and more open and international, which will attract more global talent to the province."

German expatriate Sven Kunath, who has been living in Shenyang for four years, said he had found it frustrating that he did not have access to a doctor who could speak German or English.

"There's no hospital offering international medical services for expatriates and I can't speak Chinese, so when I'm sick, I have to fly to Beijing or even Germany to see doctors," he said.

He said he went to the clinic about one month ago for a stomachache. He was pleased with the standard of medical service.

"The medical center looks very reliable and professional. Doctors can speak to you in English. The nurses can even speak German," Kunath said.

Wu Qiong, a 38-year-old doctor who returned to China in September 2009 after working in Germany, said the clinic had so far been popular with foreigners.

"In the three-month soft opening period, I have seen about 70 foreign patients," Wu said.

"Most of the patients suffered from gastrointestinal disease and other common ailments. We have operated on two patients with appendicitis."

Olaf Kastner, CEO of BMW Group China, said: "Shengjing Hospital has excellent medical skills, advanced equipment as well as staff who speak foreign languages fluently. That's the reason we choose Shengjing as our medical service center."

(China Daily 02/18/2010 page2)