CHINA’S DOCTORS ARE UNDER ATTACK

Sarah,

Last week the Economist had a really interesting article about attacks on doctors in China.  Last year there were 17,000 incidents of violence against Chinese doctors.  Two incidents highlight the magnitude of this trend:

First, a man in the city of Harbin stabbed four hospital workers after complaining about his treatment.  One of the hospital workers died.

Second, there was a huge brawl in a Chinese hospital that pitted medical workers against the family of a man who died during an operation.  The fight was so intense that 100 medical workers were forced to arm themselves with sticks and mace.

The reasons for these attacks are the lack of redress for medical malpractice, the cost of medicine, and corruption within the hospitals.  Because doctors are poorly paid in China, they often supplement their income by taking on extra surgeries or charging patients for unnecessary tests or medicine.

Source: “Heartless Attack”, The Economist, July 21^st to July 27^th issue.