Brief Introduction

The First People’s Hospital of Changzhou (also The Third Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University), situated in the centre of Changzhou — an ancient city in south of the Yangtze River, which was established in 1918. After more than a hundred years of construction and development, it has been built to a 3A general hospital with a wide range of departments, strong medical expertise, advanced medical facilities, and high academic level. It is a hospital with an integration of medical cares, medical education, and medical research. In 1995, it was approved as the Third Hospital affiliated to Soochow Medical School.In 2000, it was officially renamed as The Third Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University.

The total area of the hospital is about 75,000 m2, with a floor space of 320,000 m2 approximately. Currently, the hospital has 2,980registeredbeds for the patients, and 2,732have been applied. With the annual number of outpatient and emergency visits of 3.34million, the annual number of discharges is 14,8600, and the annual number of surgery is 67,353. At present, the total number of staff members is 3,943, including 344 professors and chief physicians, 645 associate professors and associate chief physicians. Among the staff, 220 persons with Doctor Degree and 999 persons with Master Degree, 77.42% of the physicians have master degree or higher level of education.

Ø  Constructing the basis of specialties ,developing the medical techniques

The hospital has 45 clinical departments, 7 medical technology departments, 2 scientific research institutions and a health management centre. In 2016, Oncology has been prized as Provincial Team of Medical Innovation (A Level). In 2022, Cancer Therapeutics was authorized as provincial key medical specialty of the 14^th 5-year plan. Apart from that, Oncology,Neurosurgery, Medical Imaging, Nuclear Medicine are the municipal clinical medical centres. Endocrinology & Metabolism,Cardiology, Hematology, Nephrology, Respiratory Department，General Surgery,Orthopedics,Cardiothoracic Surgery,Urology are the municipal key specialties. Urology,  Gastroenterology, Cardiothoracic Surgery,Neurosurgery, Hematology, Oncology, General Surgery, Medical Imaging,Clinical Laboratory, Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine, Nuclear Medicine, Neurology, ICU, Pathology, Nephrology, Endocrinology & Metabolism,Radiotherapy, Cardiology,  Rheumatology, Dermatology are 21 provincial key clinical departments.

We have established the centre of medical technologic cooperation with Zhongshan Hospital affiliated to Fudan University. The hospital is the Senior Stroke Centre of National Health Commission and General Stroke Centre of Chinese Stroke Association. Gynecology is the provincial key clinical department of Maternal and Child healthcare in the second cycle of the province, and the 3rd cycle of provincial key discipline construction unit of maternal and child health. The Traditional Chinese Medicine Department is the model TCM Department at provincial general hospital level. “Zhenru Health Centre” is a well-equipped modern physical examination centre. In December 2019, the ‘da Vinci’ Surgery System was introduced to the hospital, and has been applied to 2166 cases so far.

Ø  Building the new platform for the innovations of scientific research, raising the elite medical talents

The hospital insists on developing the hospital by science and technology. In the past five years, the hospital has obtained 683 scientific research projects at all levels: Among them, 63 projects supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China; 60 provincial and ministerial projects; 560 projects at the municipal and department and bureau level. It has won 101 scientific and technological awards. Among them, there are 9 provincial and ministerial science and technology progress awards and 37 provincial health department new medical technology introduction awards. It has won 101 national invention patents and 1083 utility model patents. 3,376 papers have been published in medical journals at or above the provincial level, including 210 papers in Chinese journals and 1046 in SCI. A biomedical translational research base was established jointly with the Institute of Health Sciences, Shanghai Academy of Life Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences. It has become Changzhou Base Hospital, Institute of Health Sciences, Shanghai Academy of Life Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Our hospital was acknowledged a qualified hospital for clinical trial of drugs, Project of Jiangsu Engineering Research Centre, and Centre of Translational Medicine of Jiangsu Province. Three university-level scientific research platforms have been built in Soochow University: Institute of Cell Therapy, Soochow University; Institute of Psychosomatic Gastroenterology, Soochow University; Clinical Translational Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, Soochow University. The Medical Laboratory has passed the ISO15189 accreditation and received the laboratory accreditation certificate issued by China National Accreditation Service for Conformity Assessment (CNAS).

The hospital has 15 government special subsidy receivers issued by the State Council, 9 provincial-level young and middle-aged experts who have made outstanding contributions, 3 chief municipal experts, 1 person as the provincial “innovative and entrepreneurial talent”, 11 persons in training as “innovative and entrepreneurial doctor”, 41 persons listed in the6^th provincial “333 Project of Talents’ Cultivation”. The hospital now has 16 teaching sections, 19 Clinical Ph.D. students training centres, 38 Clinical Masters training centres, 26 Ph.D. supervisors, 194 Master tutors, 8 professors, 41 associate professors and 209 lecturers. It accepts students from more than 10 medical colleges and universities for clinical rotation and internship. We have set Soochow University Medical School degree assessment commission and National Postdoctoral Workstation.We have been prized as the provincial model of postdoctoral workstation. We have built a skill training centre of 5,632 m2. Our hospital was listed on the first group of National Residents Standardized Training Centre, National General Practitioner Standardized Training Hospital, National Clinical Pharmacist Training Centre, Practice Base of National Sterilization Supply Centre.

Ø  Keeping open mind to international cooperation, keeping nation and people in mind

The hospital takes an active part in international exchanges and has established close scientific and academic exchanges with the U.S., Sweden, Japan, France, the UK, Germany, and Canada.With the cooperation of Groupe Hospitalier La Pitié Salpêtrière-Charles Foix, France, it has established 14 Medical Cooperative Centres. With Karlsruhe Hospital, Germany, the hospital has set up 7 Cooperative Medical Centres. We are the specified hospital for clinical practice in China of Middlesex University of England, Temple University School of Medicine, U.S. and Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine, U.S.. We have signed with Cambridge University Hospital to be the first Chinese cooperative hospital of Project UKeMED in China.

We are enthusiastic in international medical aid, helping the development of global healthcare. The hospital has elected multiple medical teams for international medical aid in Tanzania, Africa and Guyana, South America. In 2021, we have sent 11 medical staffs in participating the 17^thChinese (Jiangsu) medical aid team in Guyana, which has spent 1 year in Guyana for international medical aid. They have come over all the difficulties on operating the new medical techniques, on saving thousands of local people. The training they have provided keeps a Chinese medical team which never leaves.

We have successfully completed the emergency supporting tasks, expressing the social responsibility and mission of a public hospital. Since the debut of COVID-19 epidemic, our hospital has sent almost 4,000 medical staff to assist Hubei, Beijing, Xinjiang, Shanghai, Hainan and other cities of Jiangsu Province for local emergencies. The team has successfully completed the missions of medical treatment, nucleic acid collection, nucleic acid test, nosocomial infection prevention, etc. In the local process of prevention and treatment, we have developed the construction of municipal nucleic acid test centre, have set the spots for nucleic acid collection, have taken the task of vaccination and have promoted the policy of “sharing a bed” in advance. We have realized the change of strategy from “prevent infection” to “prevent severe syndrome”, doing all the best to protect the health for all the citizens of our city.

Ø  Recalling the hard past, creating the perspective of times

Our hospital has won the prizes of “National Excellent Front-Line Organization of CCP”, “National Civilized Unit”, “the National Excellent Group of Healthcare”, “Provincial Civilized Unit”, “Provincial Civilized Hospital”, ”Provincial Excellent Front-Line Organization of CCP”.In the 2021 national tertiary public hospital performance appraisal, the hospital was ranked 101^st, advancing 29from the result of 2020 and was listed on the A+ ranks.

The new era leads to a new journey, and the new journey starts with a new mission. The hospital will always adhere to the original mission of "people first, life first", keep the hospital spirit of "Benevolence, Skills and Diligence", focus on high-quality development, apply the "532" Development strategy, to build 5 systems: improvement of quality connotation,optimization of health service, development of disciplinary specialty, increasing efficiency of management and empowerment ofintelligent hospital. To solidify 3 major supports: consolidate the party to build the spirit, culture to cast the soul, talent to tamp the basis.To seize 2 cores: thesatisfaction of patient, the happiness of staff.We will do all the best to build the hospital into an integrating regional medical centre of medicine, education, research, prevention and management with an integratinghigh-quality development as soon as possible.

(Date as of March 2023)