Life of Guangzhou - Scalpers Sell RMB7 Hospital Fee for RMB40

An increasing number of scalpers are active again in Shenzhen's hospitals, selling registration numbers at a price almost six times the official fee, according to the Southern Metropolis Daily.

"I was asked for 40 yuan (US$5.15) for a registration number, but the fee is only seven yuan," said a woman surnamed Li at Shenzhen Maternal and Child Hospital on Hongli Road in Futian District on Monday.

Li went to the hospital at about 6 a.m., hoping to be able to register for a consultation session with Dr. Huang, a renowned senior traditional Chinese medicine practitioner. Registration at the hospital begins at 7:30 a.m.

"I saw about 10 people queuing in front of the registration counter when I arrived. Some of them were playing cards on the ground while others were chatting like good friends," said Li. She said her intuition told her that many of them must be hospital scalpers.

Later, those at the front of the queue obtained registration numbers to see Dr. Huang and began wandering around trying to sell them to other people in the queue, the Daily quoted Li as saying.

Another woman in the queue, carrying a baby in her arms, paid a scalper 40 yuan. The woman, who gave only her surname Tian, said: "This is the fourth consecutive day I have tried to register to meet Dr. Huang. I came to the hospital very early this morning, but I was afraid I wouldn't be able to get a number again, so I decided to pay the 40 yuan. I couldn't wait any more, my baby is sick."

The hospital authorities said the scalpers are taking advantage of people's preference for senior or experienced doctors, especially when it comes to traditional Chinese medicine.

The Daily report said that quotas to meet Dr. Huang on Monday had all been used early in the morning, citing hospital authorities, yet only four people registered to see other doctors.

"Renowned traditional Chinese medicine practitioners at the hospital are very popular. For example, some people started queuing to see Dr. Huang at 4 a.m.," the newspaper quoted an unidentified hospital official as saying.

The official said the phenomenon can also be seen in many other hospitals.

The hospital has taken a series of measures to clamp down on scalpers, but to little effect.

The hospital adopted a rule of one registration number per person from Jan. 12., hoping to discourage scalpers' speculation. Registration numbers were also made valid for three days.

Some people have called for real-name registration in hospitals but others argue some people fear for their privacy. (Wei Jie)