Villager no longer has to carry elderly mother 4 km to hospital, thanks to new services

A photo of Wang’s family, which was taken after Wang became popular on the Internet. (Photo by Cheng Hao/People’s Daily Online)

57-year-old Wang Kewu, who lives in a remote village of southwest China’s Yunnan province, no longer has to carry his 91-year-old mother on his back to see a doctor, thanks to family doctor services launched by the local health center.

Wang lives in Baduo village, Liancheng town, Guangnan county, Wenshan Zhuang and Miao autonomous prefecture of Yunnan province. He used to carry his mother on his back with a sling, something the local people normally use to carry babies, to see a doctor at the village clinic located about 4 kilometers away.

“She can’t sit steadily by herself. She falls as soon as the motorbike starts to move. It’s only safe for her if I carry her on my back,” Wang explained.

However, Wang has not had to make such Herculean efforts in recent years.

Thanks to the efforts of the discipline inspection and supervisory committee of Yunnan province and financial assistance from a philanthropic foundation based in east China’s Zhejiang province, the former health clinic of Baduo village has been transformed into a health center staffed by 12 medical workers, and equipped with 30 beds and an ambulance.

“The clinic at Baduo village used to have only three county doctors, and the medical facilities were rather backward, and barely met the medical needs of local people,” said Xu Yimin, head of the poverty relief work team sent from the discipline inspection and supervisory committee of Yunnan to Guangnan county.

With significantly improved conditions and medical equipment, the village’s new health center, which is now a branch of the Liancheng town health center, has launched family doctor services and allows patients to receive treatment, enter hospital, and apply for reimbursement on the spot.

On April 25, when Wang’s mother was feeling unwell, he called for the family doctor Wang Guangying. The doctor and her colleague promptly came to Wang’s house.

Besides providing visiting services when her patient calls for them, Wang Guangying also makes routine visits to her patient once a month. After checking her patient’s condition, the doctor goes to the health center to get medicine for her patient, saving her from having to travel.

“Thanks to the family doctor services, now it’s much convenient for us to get medical care,” Wang Kewu said happily.

On Oct. 16, 2017, Wang carried his mother, then 88 years old, on his back and took her to the clinic in the rain on a moped. After arriving there, he carefully let her down and supported her with his hands as they entered the clinic.

A staff member from the maternal and child care service center at Guangnan county captured the scene in a photograph, which was later posted online and went viral.

Wang has since become a popular online figure and been nicknamed “Uncle with a sling”.

In 2018, Wang was included in the list of national ethical role models due to the filial piety he showed his mother.

Wang has four brothers and sisters in his family. His father has passed away, and he abandoned the idea of becoming a migrant worker, as he wanted to stay near his mother who is old and sick.

Wang said it’s his duty as a son to be filial to and take care of his mother.