66 percent of Chinese physicians experienced disputes with patients
A Chinese doctors' group on Sunday urged respect for physicians and a crackdown on illegal behavior after relatives of a patient assaulted three doctors at a hospital in Beijing.
"We consider 'strong condemnation' not strong enough to express our anger, but believe that an isolated incident should not destroy the relationship between doctors and patients," the Chinese Medical Doctor Association (CMDA) said on its Sina Weibo account on Sunday.
The statement came after the incident involving a 46-year-old man surnamed Zheng allegedly assaulted He Yingdong, an obstetrician at the Peking University First Hospital on September 22, when Zheng's wife was about to give birth.
Zheng struck He when He explained to Zheng why his wife was not suitable for a cesarean section, police in Beijing's Xicheng district said.
The police also said on Saturday on WeChat that they have taken Zheng into custody for allegedly assaulting He.
Zhang Ruixi, He's colleague and one of two other doctors who Zheng also allegedly assaulted, said on Weibo on Friday that He had fractures in his eyes and jaw and had been experiencing post traumatic stress disorder.
Closed-circuit video in the hospital showed that Zheng's 19-year-old daughter, a student at Capital Normal University in Beijing, also assaulted the three doctors at the hospital, but "sincerely regrets her behavior" afterward, the police report said.
The police report has been read over 100,000 times as of press time. Most netizens said they appreciate the police's work and urged that Zheng be severely punished.
The hospital also published a statement on Friday vowing to "preserve the honor of doctors," which was forwarded on Saturday by a security administration office under the Ministry of Public Security, which stressed zero-tolerance for violent behavior toward doctors.
Assaults on doctors are not rare in China. On September 12, relatives of an elderly man who died at a hospital in Xiangyang, Hubei Province assaulted the man's doctor.
Altogether, 66 percent Chinese doctors experienced disputes with patients, according to a survey released by CMDA, hebnews.cn, a news site affiliated with the government of North China's Hebei Province, reported on Thursday.
The government should do more to protect patients' rights and the safety of doctors, Wang Shan, a professor at Peking University People's Hospital, told the Global Times on Sunday.
Liu Ruishuang, a professor at Peking University's Institute of Medical Humanities, told the Global Times that social and professional circles should discuss issues such as to what extent patients and their relatives can decide on the treatment to be taken.
