While Covid infections are raging across China, one Xi’an hospital has gone trending on Chinese social media earlier this week for offering special sleep pods, also known as sleeping capsules, outside their Intensive Care unit.
The sleeping pods can be used for 50 yuan ($7.20) per 24 hours. Inside, there is a bed, air-conditioning, a mirror, and USB ports for charging phones or laptops.
Although ten sleeping pods were already set up inside the hospital in October of this year, the popularity of the topic (#西安一医院ICU门口设陪护睡眠仓#) is related to the pressure on Chinese hospitals in light of the current Covid wave and the loved ones of patients who would like to stay close to their sick family members. One Xi’an IC doctor posted about the pods on social media.
Sleeping capsules outside the Xi'an Hospital IC unit. For 50 yuan ($7.2) per night, loved ones can get some rest while staying close to their admitted family members. Read more: https://t.co/AcWWEggJq5 pic.twitter.com/D305w56xVf
— Manya Koetse (@manyapan) December 21, 2022
Since the price of hotels in the hospital vicinity is more expensive, and people are often far removed from their hometowns, it is convenient and comfortable for family members to get some rest at one of these sleep pods.
These ‘nod pods’ are comparable to those available at Beijing’s Daxing Airport (see tweet below).
Flying early in the AM from Beijing, badminton player Zheng Siwei tried out sleep cabin Naphub (刻睡) at Daxing Airport. Price: 185rmb ($26) for 3 hours, 333rmb ($48) for the night. Has wifi, adjustable massage chair, but no windows and it's super tiny. Convenient if necessary. pic.twitter.com/o4w0BFYKnn
— Manya Koetse (@manyapan) September 17, 2022
On Weibo, there are various discussions on this phenomenon of sleeping capsules inside hospitals.
On the one hand, there are those who applaud the business initiative because it offers family members a way to stay close to loved ones who have been admitted to the hospital. “This is an excellent idea, accommodation near the hospital is expensive and if there is really no other place to let people stay in the ward, I really support that this becomes more common.”
On the other hand, there are those who think the price is too high and only allows people who are privileged enough to afford it to stay the night at the hospital. For many Chinese families, paying for medical treatments alone already causes high financial distress.
One parent shared their experience of taking their child to the emergency room at Beijing Children’s Hospital a few years ago. Crossing the underpass towards the hospital, they saw many people – including elderly and children – sleeping outside in the underpass in one of Beijing’s most prosperous areas. Although some nearby hotels allegedly offer rooms beds for 80 yuan ($11.5) per night, the cost is still too high for many who have no other alternatives.
The parent wrote on Weibo: “The sleep pods in Xi’an are beautiful and comfortable, and the price of 50 yuan [$7.20] for 24 hours is also good (I guess this price might be hard to get in Beijing because many places already charge 10 yuan [$1.45] an hour for parking alone), but maybe the difference of 20-30 yuan will lower the threshold for people to finally decide to take a good rest. This is of course a sign of progress, but what is more important and pressing than this, is to solve the problem of difficult access to health care in our country. We still have a long way to go.”
By Manya Koetse
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