Chinese President Hu Jintao urged the country's doctors to improve ethics and professional skills after a recent visit to a veteran military surgeon who is dying of cancer.

Accompanied by senior military officials, Hu Jintao visited Hua Yiwei in his sickbed in Beijing's General Military Hospital. Hua, a veteran surgeon who saved thousands of lives in over 50 years of medical practice, is suffering from terminal stomach cancer and is in a critical condition.

Hua was the former chief surgeon of the General Military Hospital.

"In his 50 years of military medical practice, Hua's superb professional skills and lofty medical ethics saved many patients. He was overwhelmingly praised by the public and deemed 'a person worthy of trust'," Hu said during his visit.

Because of a recent trachea operation, Hua was unable to speak when Hu came to his bed and shook hands with him.

Hu thanked Hua on behalf of all the patients that Hua had cured and asked the doctors to do all they could to relieve Hua's pain.

Hu then called on the country's medical staff to learn from Hua's deeds and improve their professional skills and ethical standards in order to provide the public with better service.

Source: Xinhua