Hospital Violence Symptomatic of Underlying Social Ills in China

Last week, Wang Hao (王浩), a young medical intern working at a Harbin city hospital in northern China was stabbed to death by an angry patient. Three of his fellow doctors were seriously injured.

Last year alone, there were 10 incidents involving the violent death of medical staff. There is growing concern that if trust between doctors and patients cannot be rebuilt soon, this kind of violence will soon become a common occurence.

The violence appears to be linked to abnormal conditions becoming the norm in Chinese hospitals: queuing overnight for registration, treatment for a simple cold costing over 1,000 RMB, an increase in the frequency of medical malpractice, the arbitration of medical disputes often dragging on for years ... the list goes on. Read More