China's hospital ship brings medical services to South China Sea islands, reefs

GUANGZHOU, July 10 (Xinhua) -- Chinese naval hospital ship "Silk Road Ark" set sail on Wednesday for the Xisha and Nansha islands, as well as the islands and reefs off the south China coast, to provide mobile medical services.

It is the independently-developed ship's first medical mission since going into service.

With 14 clinical departments, including orthopedics, general surgery, dermatology and gastroenterology, the ship has the capacity for eight surgeries to be performed and over 300 patients to receive treatment onboard at the same time.

During the mission, the ship will provide free diagnosis and treatment for military personnel and residents on the islands, examine and repair local medical facilities, and educate the residents on common and frequently-occurring diseases.

The medical staff on the ship consists of personnel from the First Naval Hospital of the Southern Theater Command of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), the PLA General Hospital, General Hospital of the Southern Theater Command and Naval Medical University.