An artist's rendering of the expansion at The First People's Hospital of Chongqing Liangjiang New Area. [Photo/liangjiang.gov.cn]

The expansion project of The First People's Hospital of Chongqing Liangjiang New Area began construction on June 26.

Pi Tao, a member of the Chongqing Liangjiang New Area Party Work Committee and vice-director of the Chongqing Liangjiang New Area Administrative Committee, attended the commencement ceremony.

Founded in 1957, the hospital is a comprehensive, secondary class-A hospital receiving nearly 700,000 patient visits annually, and it is a backbone of Liangjiang's health sector and public health emergency response system.

After being expanded, the hospital will not only offer patients overall medical services, including disease prevention and control and fitness maintenance, but also integrate other functions such as medical research and instruction.

The expansion project involves an investment of 1.85 billion yuan ($277.5 million), adding a new area of 72 mu (4.8 hectares) to the hospital. New departments will be established, including an emergency department and an imaging department.

Once completed, the hospital's total number of outpatient visits is expected to grow to 5,000 per day.

The expanded hospital will be more intelligent and more patient-oriented, achieving positive interactions among patients, medical staff members, medical institutions and medical equipment. It will also form an information network system for management, supervision and emergency response within the medical institution.