Healthcare

According to the annual Statistical Communiqué on the National Economic and Social Development of Hunan Province, by the end of 2025, there were 57,277 healthcare institutions in Hunan. Among them, there were 1,738 hospitals, 139 maternal and child health centers (institutes/stations), 60 specialized centers (institutes/stations) for disease prevention and treatment, 1,959 township health centers, 1,124 community health service centers (stations), 16,118 clinics, health , and infirmaries, and 33,930 village clinics. The number of medical technical personnel totaled 586,000, up by 2.6 percent from the previous year. Among them, there were 226,000 licensed doctors and assistant doctors, and 280,000 registered nurses. Hospitals had 380,000 beds, a decrease of 0.5 percent, while township health centers had 99,000 beds, a decrease of 4.0 percent.

According to statistics from the Hunan Provincial Health Commission released on May 11, as of April 2026, the number of registered nurses across the province reached 320,000. The number of registered nurses per 1,000 people rose to 4.9, and the doctor-nurse ratio reached 1:1.24. The nursing workforce has continued to grow, nursing service capability has significantly improved, and the public's sense of gain in healthcare has steadily increased.

In terms of nursing workforce development, the province has established a comprehensive support mechanism through measures such as reform of the staffing filing system and optimization of performance-based compensation. 

In 2026, the number of newly registered nurses increased by 2,515, and specialized nursing teams in geriatrics, pediatrics, rehabilitation, and other fields continued to expand. The structure of nurses' professional titles and educational backgrounds has been continuously optimized, with nurses holding intermediate or higher titles accounting for 31.84%, those with college degrees or above accounting for 83%, and those with bachelor's degrees or above accounting for 34.55%. The pass rate for new nurse orientation training in tertiary public hospitals reached 100%, with over 32,000 backbone nursing staff trained for 28 specialties including intensive care and geriatrics, along with 53,000 as nursing assistants.

As for improving nursing services, Hunan has focused on addressing the pressing difficulties and concerns that people face in seeking medical care. A total of 567 secondary-level and above public hospitals across the province have established "one-stop" outpatient service centers, integrating diverse services such as making reservation, payment processing, consultation, and guidance. To tackle the issue of "the whole family burdened for one patient hospitalized," the province has vigorously promoted "companion-free" care service. Fifty-six provincial key monitoring units cover all 13 cities and one autonomous prefecture provincewide, 115 medical institutions have served over 280,000 patients, and more than 3,000 nursing assistants completed the qualification trainings. "Internet plus nursing services" have achieved full coverage across all 13 cities and one autonomous prefecture, with 273 medical institutions and over 10,000 senior nurses participating, providing nearly 600,000 cumulative services that precisely benefit groups such as elderly and disabled individuals. Hospice care services are accessible in all counties, county-level cities, and districts, significantly enhancing elderly care service capabilities.

As of the end of 2024, Hunan's average life expectancy reached 79 years. The major health indicators such as the mortality rate for maternal pregnancies, infants and children under five, as well as the health literacy rate, have obviously surpassed the national average level.

 
Hunan has included deepening medical reform on the list of the first batch of key reform tasks authorized by the CPC Hunan Provincial Committee. A "Five Level" goal has been set up—"chronic diseases can be managed without leaving the village; common illnesses can be treated without leaving the township; more complex common diseases can be treated without leaving the county; most illnesses can be treated without leaving the city; and all illnesses can be treated without leaving the province. Supporting policies have been rolled out successively, with pilot programs launched in eight cities (prefecture).

 
Xiangtan, Loudi, and Changsha cities have been approved to implement national demonstration projects for promoting public hospital reforms and high-quality development. In the national medical reform monitoring and evaluation in 2024, all 13 cities and one prefecture across Hunan Province were rated A or above. Between 2020 and 2024, the proportion of personal healthcare expenditures borne by residents decreased from 29.38% to 27.38%.

 
The province currently has 57,600 medical and health institutions, 523,200 beds, and 685,500 healthcare personnel. A number of key projects have been approved, including the National Center for Mental Health and several national and regional medical centers.

 
The medical service capacity of county-level hospitals has significantly improved. Of these, 84.44% hospitals meet the service capacity standards of the third-grade hospitals, marking an increase of 55.98 percentage points over the 13th Five-Year Plan period. The province has comprehensively advanced the construction of county-level medical consortia, with 142 medical consortia established across 99 counties, county-level cities, and districts. The proportion of medical visits handled by primary-level medical institutions has risen from 56.2% in 2020 to 62.54% in 2024.

 
Hunan has maintained its polio-free status for 32 consecutive years, and has reported no diphtheria cases for 21 consecutive years. The province has ranked third nationwide in the national performance evaluation of basic public health services. The premature mortality rate of major chronic diseases has decreased by 29.03% compared to 2020.

 
A unified provincial medical and health data platform has been established, covering the full lifecycle health records of 66 million residents. The health code has been upgraded to a personal health terminal that integrates 22 services.

 
Over the past five years, Hunan has continuously given play to the distinctive strengths of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). The province has been approved to establish a National Demonstration Zone for Comprehensive Reform in the TCM sector. During this period, Hunan has added one National TCM Master, two National Famous TCM Doctors, two Qi Huang Scholars, three Young Qi Huang Scholars, and 197 National-level TCM Talents. A total of 1,512 TCM research projects have been approved for funding, and two international standards as well as 179 local standards for Chinese medicinal materials have been developed.

 
Hunan's TCM industry is flourishing, with the total output value of the entire industrial chain reaching 154.2 billion CNY, representing a growth of 41.3% compared to 2020.

According to the annual statistical communiqué, by the end of 2024, there were 57,650 healthcare institutions in Hunan. Among them, there were 1,762 hospitals, 138 maternal and child health centers, 62 specialized disease prevention and treatment centers, 1,998 township health centers, 1,102 community health service centers, 14,820 clinics, and 35,521 village clinics. The number of medical technical personnel totaled 567,000, down by 0.6 percent over the previous year. Among them, there were 223,000 licensed doctors and licensed assistant doctors, and 264,000 registered nurses. Hospitals had 387,000 beds, a decrease of 0.8 percent, while township health centers had 104,000 beds, a decrease of 1.3 percent.