“A professional medical care team that has undergone strict standardized training and is under unified management provides patients with all-round, full-cycle care services. It can not only free the patient’s family from the heavy task of accompanying, but also create a quieter, cleaner and more comfortable hospitalization environment for the patient.” Ran Maoxiao, deputy director of the Nursing Department of Jiulongpo District People’s Hospital in Chongqing, told reporters that “no-escort wards” do not mean no one is accompanying.
According to reports, the hospital began to pilot the “no-escort ward” in November 2024, with orthopedics and urology becoming the first pilot departments. In addition, Chongqing Thirteenth Hospital also launched the “no-escort” model in the general ward. The reporter noted that not only Chongqing, but also many hospitals such as Shandong University Qilu Hospital, Fuzhou Second General Hospital, and Liuzhou Workers Hospital have set up “no-escort wards”.
“The identity has changed, and the content of nursing work is also different.” Shen Jiping, a medical nurse at the People’s Hospital of Jiulongpo District, Chongqing, told reporters that in the past, most nurses were hired by the patients’ families or introduced by fellow villagers. Most of them had not received professional training and assessment, and their levels were uneven. They were more of a caregiver for the patients. The medical nurses in the “unattended ward” not only need to provide patients with professional care plans, provide comprehensive care from daily life to disease monitoring, but also pay attention to the patients’ physical and mental health at any time and assist medical staff in completing rehabilitation training.
Ran Maoxiao said that in the past, the mobility of nurses was high and the hospital had low management authority over them. Today, the medical nurses working in the “unattended ward” have relatively fixed work areas and job responsibilities, are more professional, and can provide patients with higher quality medical services.
“This will undoubtedly bring changes to the traditional nursing market, and the effect is definitely positive.” Industry insiders pointed out that nursing practitioners are mainly migrant workers from rural areas, and some of them do not have nursing skills. Chaos and disputes in the industry are endless. The promotion and popularization of “no-escort wards” will greatly promote the professionalization and standardization of the nursing industry.
Professional nursing dispels doubts
“The emergence of ‘no-escort wards’ can change the situation of ‘one person is hospitalized and the whole family is busy’.” Ran Maoxiao mentioned that in the past, the family members of patients often worried about not being able to find a reliable and satisfactory nursing staff, and the “no-escort ward” as an innovative medical service model has saved the family members of patients from many troubles.
Aunt Chen, a citizen living in Dadukou District, is deeply touched by this. Not long ago, her father was admitted to the “no-escort ward” of Jiulongpo District People’s Hospital in Chongqing because of a fall. The reporter saw in the ward that medical caregiver Shen Jiping was giving massage care to the elderly while chatting with the elderly in a low voice, and the elderly showed a relaxed expression on his face.
“My father is 90 years old this year. This is the second time he has been hospitalized due to a fall.” Aunt Chen recalled that the last time her father was hospitalized, she changed three caregivers in a row and none of them were satisfied. In the end, the family had to take care of him in turns, and they were exhausted. This time, when she first heard about the “no-escort ward”, she also had doubts in her heart, but after trying it, she found that after the medical caregivers took over, the family members were very relaxed and the quality of care also satisfied her.
“Patients often praise that professional caregivers are different.” Shen Jiping frankly said that many patients’ families would worry about the “no-escort ward” at first, but their professional care gradually dispelled everyone’s doubts.
In addition, the open and transparent price system of the “no-escort ward” also made the patients’ families praise it. Aunt Chen told reporters that when hiring caregivers before, there was no clear standard for charging, and the cost was mostly 200 to 300 yuan/day. The one-to-one service chosen this time only costs 180 yuan/day, which reduces the burden on patients’ families.
From “hard work” to “skilled work”
“The hospital requires that the accompanying personnel must undergo professional training and assessment, and must hold an ID card, health certificate, and Chongqing Medical Caregiver Vocational Skills Training Certificate before they can take up their posts.” Ran Maoxiao introduced that before taking up their posts, the hospital will also provide hands-on training to medical caregivers, especially focusing on turning over, scrubbing, massage, wheelchair transfer and other links, and even teach caregivers to understand the professional terms of relevant departments.
At the same time, the hospital’s assessment of medical caregivers is also more stringent. The relevant person in charge of the Jiulongpo District People’s Hospital of Chongqing said that the hospital and the third-party company have established a dual training and dual assessment mechanism. If the caregiver fails the assessment twice in a row or the satisfaction rate is less than 90%, the company where the caregiver works will be interviewed and asked to replace the medical caregiver. If there is a complaint dispute, the company will be given a red card warning. If the circumstances are serious, the hospital will terminate the contract with the company.
The reporter noticed that with the gradual pilot promotion of “no-companion wards”, the shift from traditional scattered care workers to professional medical care workers is becoming a new trend, and the new medical care model with high requirements and strict assessment is gradually ushering in a change in the medical care industry, which is mainly composed of migrant workers.
“From ‘hard work’ to ‘technical work’.” The head of a Chongqing escort company described it this way. He combined the situation of his company and said that most of the company’s employees are middle-aged women from rural areas. In the past, when recruiting, the company paid more attention to whether the employees have the ability to endure hardships, and in the future, it will pay more attention to the comprehensive quality of applicants.
Zhang Xiumei from Longshi Town, Hechuan District, Chongqing has just passed the training assessment and became a medical care worker. Before that, she worked as a care worker for 5 years. Talking about the changes before and after, she sincerely sighed: “Nowadays, the requirements for medical care practitioners are higher. In the past, it was ‘willing to work’, and now it is ‘able to work’, which also prompted me to continue to learn and improve.” Zhang Xiumei said that she used her spare time to self-study medical psychology, and these knowledge and skills are now in handy.
