According
to the China Hospital association, medical staffs are being attacked by
patients or their relatives at a rate of once every two weeks per hospital. At
least six serious incidents have occurred in the last two weeks. This includes
the case of Dr. Yunje who was stabbed to death by a patient unhappy with his
treatment on October 25th. Since 2002, attacks have risen by an
average of nearly 23 percent a year. In the late 1980s, the state provided about
60 percent of investment in most public hospitals. After medical reforms by
2009, they were providing 20 percent and remaining 80 percent had to be covered
with revenue generated by the hospitals. The central government’s National
Health and Family Planning Commission has pushed for emergency measures to be implemented
which includes having hospitals assign one security guard per 20 beds, and
guards should account for no less than 3 percent of the total medical staff.
The
issue of high medical cost for Chinese people is a sociological created problem
that has surfaced in recent years. Nearly all the major medical facilities are
run by the government but underfunding has become a major problem that has
caused poor healthcare quality and crowded hospitals. After learning more about
China’s overpopulation problem, I can see why healthcare is not a major
concern. It is also important to note that violent incidents are more severe in
these smaller or local hospitals. There is a widespread lack of trust in
doctors and hospital administrators, not to mention corruption in every level. This
is affecting families all over China who often do not have enough time or money
to pay for private care in China. Illness frequently causes bankruptcy in
families who exhaust their saving on healthcare. These families’ expect positive
results and when they don’t see them, they often blame the doctors which
explain the rise of violence within the hospitals. This is commonly a problem with
families living in poverty because they make very little money in the factories
they usually work in. If someone in the family were to become ill, that would worsen
their situation because it will be less income contributing to the family.
Karina Velazquez
11/8/13
1:05 am
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