The founding meeting of a sleep medicine committee under the Chinese Research Hospital Association (CRHA) was held in Hohhot, capital of Inner Mongolia autonomous region, on June 15 and 16.

Hosted by CRHA and organized by Inner Mongolia No 3 Hospital, the meeting elected Han Fang, professor of the Sleep Medicine Center of Beijing University People's Hospital as the committee's president, as well as 11 vice-presidents, 34 standing committee members and 109 committee members.

According to Han Fang, the committee was established to systematically push the development of sleep medicine in China.

Sleep medicine has become increasingly prominent among the life sciences in recent years. The committee helps provide a platform for domestic doctors and scientists to exchange views with those in developed countries, where research and treatment into sleep disorders is more advanced, said CRHA President Wang Faqiang.

Xu Hongzhi, director of Inner Mongolia Commission of Health and Family Planning said that Inner Mongolia Sleep Medicine Center in the regional No 3 Hospital should learn from the committee's activities and advice, in order to further the development of Inner Mongolia's sleep medicine.

Sui Xiaotang, dean of Inner Mongolia No 3 Hospital expressed his hopes that the committee would cooperate with the hospital in training more experienced sleep medicine doctors for Inner Mongolia autonomous region.

The First Summit Forum on Sleep Medicine was held following the founding meeting. National experts on respiratory and sleep medicine were invited to deliver academic reports during the forum.