China's hospitals pilot companion-free care services

A nurse (R) explains the "companion-free" care services to a family member of an inpatient at a hospital in Shanghai, east China, Feb. 26, 2026. (Xinhua/Liu Ying)

SHANGHAI, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- China's hospitals are piloting "companion-free" care services to ease the heavy burden of daily care-giving on the inpatients' families.

The new mode of operation requires hosting hospitals to directly employ trained nursing assistants to provide 24-hour non-medical care for inpatients with particular needs.

Such services used to rely solely on family members of the inpatients or private caregivers they hire.

A nurse (L) and nursing assistant (R) help an inpatient with post-surgery rehabilitation exercises at a hospital in Shanghai, east China, Feb. 26, 2026. (Xinhua/Liu Ying)

A nursing assistant feeds an inpatient at a hospital in Shanghai, east China, Feb. 26, 2026. (Xinhua/Liu Ying)

A nursing assistant helps an inpatient walk at a hospital in Shanghai, east China, Feb. 26, 2026. (Xinhua/Liu Ying)