2010-12-10 16:48

BEIJING - China's Health Ministry has vowed to tighten supervision of the cosmetic surgery industry after the controversial death of a young woman during an operation last month.

The ministry planned to launch a nationwide inspection of the industry in the near future, ministry spokesman Deng Haihua told a weekly news briefing in Beijing Friday.

Former television talent show singer Wang Bei, 24, died on Nov 15 while undergoing facial surgery at a hospital in Wuhan, capital of the central Hubei province.

The provincial health authorities have investigated the cause of Wang's widely-reported death, but they have yet to publish their findings.

Hundreds of thousands of people receive cosmetic surgery every year in China, Deng said.

However, the industry is plagued by problems, like the uneven distribution of qualified medical resources, unfair competition and an increasing number of medical accidents, Deng said.

He admitted the industry lacked support from and supervision by health authorities.

Zhang Mao, deputy health minister, on visit to the plastic surgery hospital of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences on Wednesday, called for due attention to be given to cosmetic medical services, said Deng.

Zhang called for greater efforts to standardize services and promote the industry's healthy development.