600,000 Chinese Doctors Protest Violent Attacks by Patients
They calling for an end of violent attacks on medical workers after a physician was injured by her patient.
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About six lakh doctors in China have signed an online petition against the increasing attacks by angry patients and their relatives, calling for an end to the frustrating violence and abuse against the medical staff.
The campaign was launched after a physician was injured by her patient in south China’s Guangdong Province on Wednesday (Last Week).
The police in Huizhou City, Guangdong, said yesterday that the suspect surnamed Liao has confessed to the attack on the doctor, Ou Lizhi, from Longmen County People’s Hospital.
Social Media Campaign
Attacks on healthcare staff have led to a public outrage, especially in the medical sector. As of yesterday, more than 600,000 doctors signed to join the social-media campaign.
The Guangdong Provincial Commission of Health and Family Planning in a notice has asked hospitals to cooperate with area public security departments to set up police stations at hospitals or have police regularly patrol nearby to reduce their response time during a violent attack.
It also asked hospitals to put up surveillance cameras and install police alarm.
Previous Incidents
On June, 12 cases of violent attacks on medical staff were reported in hospitals nationwide.
In a poll published in May by the Chinese Medical Doctor Association, some 13% of 12,600 doctors said they have been physically assaulted by their patients last year, and nearly 60% have been verbally abused.
Doctors said they felt they were not respected and they were unprotected at their workplaces.