On November 20th, a delegation headed by Barbara Woodward, ambassador of the United Kingdom to China, visited the West China Hospital of Sichuan University. The delegation visited the Geriatrics Center and the Telemedicine Center. Gong Qiyong, deputy director of the West China Hospital, introduced the general conditions of the hospital to the distinguished guests. And he highlighted that the Geriatrics Center had abundant practical experience and a strong technical force in treating gerontal diseases thanks to its accumulation in more than three decades, making the hospital rank fourth in such domain in China; the West China Hospital has established close cooperation relationship with several medical and educational institutions in Britain; it is expected that this visit would further facilitate cooperation and promote the medical and teaching standards of both parties

Ambassador Barbara Woodward expressed her delight after learning that the West China Hospital had joint research projects with the University of Edinburgh in radiology discipline, with the Northumbria University in geriatric discipline and had doctoral students exchange program with the University of Oxford. The ambassador said that she hoped to build a bridge to connect Britain and the West China Hospital in geriatric research, which would beef up cooperation between Britain and the West China Hospital in aspects of medical treatment, teaching and research, in an effort to help realize and drive the development of both countries in translational medicine and medical industry.

After learning that the West China Hospital is equipped with the largest hospital network in China, the delegation came to the Telemedicine Center to see its operation and radiation ability. The ambassador recognized the coverage of the network and the benefit it brought to the people.

Ambassador Barbara Woodward was surprised to learn that the West China Hospital received at least 15,000 out patients every day. She immediately expressed her desire to strengthen cooperation between Britain and the medical institutions of Sichuan in the areas of medical information technology, telemedicine and gerontology in pursuit of win-win results. “The ultimate objective of cooperation is to bring health and happiness to people in both Britain and Sichuan”, said the ambassador.