Hanoi (VNA) -The number of assaults against medical workers climbed to a record high lastyear, with 25 cases reported to the police. Hospital violence stayed in theheadlines year-round, prompting both Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and theNational Assembly to voice concerns.

In the first months of 2018, two obstetricians in Yen Bai province werephysically abused by a husband and 10 others after the medical workers, whowere delivering his baby, asked him not to climb on the window railing to filmthe birth.

This was among many reasons for patients and their family members to attackmedical workers, 70 percent of whom were doctors and 15 percent nurses,according to the Ministry of Health.

The reasons ranged from a doctor’s refusal to conduct a fluid infusion to adrunken patient, or a doctor preventing a fight between patients.

In another case, the family assumed the doctor’s diagnosis was wrong and hithim before forcing an apology out of the doctor.

Lawyer Bui Dinh Ung from the Hanoi Bar Association told the Lao Dong (Labour)newspaper that while some medical workers’ attitude could have triggered theviolence, the patients and their families – the assaulters – were mostly atfault in those attacks.   

“Protection for the doctors and nurses is an important issue and must beimproved for the sake of the (medical) staff,” Ung said.

Ung said most national and provincial hospitals had recruited their ownsecurity force to little avail, as the assaults kept happening despite thepresence of security guards.

“We can see from those attacks that the security force at the hospitals was yetto play the real ‘security’ role but only to monitor the people entering andexiting the hospitals. Apparently, they could not protect medical staff shouldan incident occur,” he added.

Hanoi’s Bach Mai Hospital General Planning Department head Duong Duc Hungtold Nguoi Lao Dong (The Labourer) newspaper that the hospital dispatchedmore security guards to hotspots, for example the emergency room, after severalcases of hospital violence. The hospital director board also worked with localpolice to tighten security near the hospital, he added.

Such measures will not eliminate violent actions in the hospital, he admitted,but at least it is hoped to ease and prevent the assaults.

Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Kim Tien, who said that the health sector wasalone in the fight against hospital violence and it was looking for bettersecurity through “police posts” inside the hospitals.

Ministry of Public Security Chief of Staff, Major General Luong Tam Quang saidthat so far the ministry had yet received an official request from the healthministry to dispatch police officers to the hospitals, or to allow hospitalsecurity guards to carry supporting gear.

“Local police have always cooperated to protect hospitals. If there are anypolice officers to be stationed at the hospitals, it (the procedure) mustfollow the law,” he said.

Admitting the working environment was no longer safe for the medical staff,Nguyen Huy Quang, head of the Department of Legal Affairs under the healthministry, said protective measures like hiring more security guards would onlytreat the symptom and not the real problem.

“Any solutions must include listening to what the patients and their families wantand giving them a proper health consultation,” Quang said.

“The key is to solve the root of the issue.” -VNA