As the Chinese hospital farthest away from the Chinese mainland, a hospital on Yongshu Reef in the South China Sea has been operating smoothly since its launch in July, and has offered over 1,000 treatments for patients on and near the reef.

A team of more than 50 medical experts from the Beijing-based PLA Navy General Hospital has been stationed at the hospital since July, CCTV News reported.

The reef is about 740 nautical miles away from the Chinese mainland, and it can take up to three days to traverse the distance by ship. Before the hospital was built, emergency medical treatment was only available in Sanya, and patients in critical condition had to be transferred by air.

“It is no longer difficult for people on the Nansha Islands to seek medical help. With gradual improvement, a comprehensive and modern medical treatment platform means better and more convenient medical treatment available for merchant ships, fishermen and soldiers stationed on the Nansha Islands,” CCTV commented.

The hospital is designed and equipped to the standards of a secondary-level hospital, which entails meeting the same requirements as any other district- or county-level hospital in China. Such hospitals must be equipped with between 100 and 500 beds, and usually shoulder basic scientific research responsibilities in addition to medical service for several neighborhoods, according to CCTV. The new hospital currently has more than 400 sets of medical equipment, covering everything from basic examinations to emergency treatment.

Construction began on the hospital in November 2015. It took more than 500 construction workers under three months to complete the project, which spreads across 16,000 square meters.