THE annual peak season for children visiting hospitals for the treatment of chronic conditions has begun, an official said yesterday.

“We are encouraging people to make appointments rather than just turning up in the outpatient department,” said Wang Juliang, who works at the Children’s Hospital of Fudan University.

The number of people visiting the hospital’s outpatient and emergency departments has grown by about 20 percent to between 7,000 and 8,000 a day since the start of the school holidays on July 1, he said.