Hospital congested as 24-hour service opens

It was 8 pm Sunday, but the outpatient hall of a hospital in Beijing was jammed with 600 people waiting to register their medical appointments for Monday.

The Peking Union Medical College Hospital, a renowned general hospital in Beijing, began a 24-hour appointment registration service on Sunday to ease the morning tension of registrations and restrict scalpers' illegal sale of appointment tickets, the Beijing Morning Post reported.

People queue up to register at the outpatient hall of Peking Union Medical College Hospital on Aug 19. [Photo/CFP]

The new service has brought a boom to the hospital. As of 7 pm on Sunday, the outpatient hall had been packed with 300 people or so, with hundreds of people waiting outside.

The booking service starts at 8 pm everyday, which enables people go to the hospital after work.

The rush hour for the service will be around 8 and 9 pm everyday, said Wang Xiaobo, director of the outpatient department of PUMCH.