China's Supreme People's Court (SPC) on Tuesday disclosed details of four criminal cases of medical violence, calling for rational settlement of medical disputes.
A total of 155 such cases, including serious personal injury and intentional homicide of doctors, were seen in 2014, said the SPC.
Attacks on medical staff have been increasing in number and ferocity. Patients often accuse doctors of rushing consultations and prescribing excessive medicine, while doctors complain about overwork, low pay and being misinterpreted.
In one case, a man named Lian stabbed a doctor to death and wounded two others at a hospital in Zhejiang Province in October 2013. Lian confessed, claiming he was angry with the results of previous nasal surgery. He was sentenced to death and executed on Monday. Chinese courts always severely punish violence against medical staff.
When a patient died in Fujian Province last year, his brother rallied a mob of relatives who blocked the hospital gate, ransacked offices, smashed windows and beat up the doctors and policemen.
In Wuhan in central China, displeased with the results of her cosmetic surgery, Wang Min repeatedly harassed the outpatient department where she was treated. She deliberately damaged hospital facilities, scrawled insulting graffiti on clinic doors and even hired thugs to attack the doctors. She was sentenced to four years of imprisonment.
Doctors and patients are sometimes mutually suspicious of one another following problematic procedures, while the doctor-patient relationship should be based on trust and care. A open and sincere mind for both doctors and patients are necessary. Poorly handled disputes do not solve problems but lead to conflicts and violence.
Nevertheless, hospital violence is gradually being contained in China thanks to better law enforcement and communication channels between patients and hospitals, said the SPC.
According to the National Health and Family Planning Commission, there were 115,000 medical disputes in 2014, a decline of 8.7 percent from 2013. Medical-related crimes also dropped 10.6 percent year on year.
