BEIJING -- Improvements will be made in the quality of management and service levels in China's county hospitals, a government official said on Wednesday.

China's Vice Health Minister Ma Xiaowei told Xinhua in an interview that county hospitals and rural clinics are in urgent need of medical workers to meet the demands of the public.

By the end of 2011, China had 10,337 county hospitals, which served more than 900 million rural people. However, many rural patients go to major urban hospitals for better services.

Ma attributed this to a lack of quality medical workers in county and community facilities.

To restore the public's trust, the Ministry of Health has initiated programs to encourage medical workers in cities to work in county-level hospitals, and train doctors in those facilities.

In a move to improve the management level at county hospitals, Ma said experienced managers at level III hospitals, the highest standard in China, will be assigned to county facilities to help run them.

Also, procedures in county hospitals will be streamlined and the communication between doctors and patients increased, according to the official.

The ministry has set a goal of enabling county-level medical institutions to serve 90 percent of all patients within each area.