A Chinese medical team that has worked at the national hospital for much of the past year has expressed its gratitude to the people of Samoa as they prepare to return home.

The team, which consists of Yankai Yu, Yinnan Zhou, Dahua Sang, Lei Bi, Bingchen Liu, and Lei Zhu, are all from the Jilin Province People's Hospital. They have worked for the Tupua Tamasese Meaole Hospital at Motootua for 9 months.

The team’s leader, Yankai Yu, told the Samoa Observer in an interview on Wednesday afternoon that they appreciated the kindness they had been shown by the people of Samoa. 

Dr. Yu said that his team was happy to have provided medical services for the country and hopes that having done so deepens existing Sino-Samoan ties. 

Asked if he would consider coming back to Samoa, Dr. Yu said that he would return when the current COVID-19 pandemic dies down and quarantine requirements are no longer needed. 

He said Samoa was in great need of ear nose and throat (E.N.T.) doctors and its clinic was filled with patients in need of treatment. 

Dr. Yu said he will miss his Samoan friends, especially his colleagues at the Tupua Tamasese Meaole Hospital.

Dr. Yinnan Zhou told the Samoa Observer that some of the challenges he faced while performing surgery included the physical size of the Samoan people.

"But I would like to thank my colleagues here because they are very friendly and professional," he said.

Dr. Zhou is considering coming back to Samoa in the future with his family.

Asked about any improvements needed at the national  hospital he said that Samoa needs more doctors and more training. 

Dr. Zhou said that professional training in New Zealand or China would help improve the country’s standard of medical treatment. 

The team will return to China on Friday 4 June. The Sino-Samoa medical cooperation dates back to the 1980s when the Chinese Government began sending medical teams to Samoa to provide medical services.

To date, 125 medical professionals and 18 Medical Teams have worked in Samoan hospitals.

A new medical team from China had recently arrived which consists of eight members: Wang Tiejun (Traumatic Orthopedics), Liu Xiaoxia (Gynecologist), Yu Zhi (ENT), Hu Jinghai (Urologist), Sun Mo (Pathologist), Wang Baogang (Cardiologist), Huang Shuo (Neurologist) and Ding Lili (Critical Medicine). They are all from the First Bethune Hospital of Jilin University.