The Shanghai Health Bureau announced yesterday that local health authorities have closed 8,129 illegal medical facilities over a three year campaign.

The bureau said health inspectors confiscated 3.43 million yuan (US$471,800) in illegal income, 13,331 packages of medicines and 52,652 pieces of medical equipment from the illegal clinics, which have been fined a total of 6.03 million yuan during the campaign.

Five local hospitals were charged with renting spaces to unlicensed people or clinics.

"During our campaign, we found 87 clinics providing diagnosis and treatment for sexually-related diseases without license and three beauty parlors illegally practising medicine," said Song Guofan, from the Shanghai Health Bureau. "Another 66 medical facilities were punished for publishing advertisements that exaggerated cures and misled patients."

Two doctors and six medical facilities had their licenses withdrawn for serious and repeated violations.

"Health officials in the Pudong New Area found a seriously ill pregnant woman in an unlicensed clinic in Sanlin Town on August 10 in 2006.

"Officials immediately sent her to a hospital for emergency treatment. The woman told officials later that she had only visited the illegal clinic to save herself money."

(Shanghai Daily January 8, 2008)