Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Kim Tien has asked authorised agencies to commence criminal proceedings against people who commit violence against health workers to ensure the safety of doctors in their workplace.

Minister of Health Nguyễn Thị Kim Tiến has asked authorised agencies to commence criminal proceedings against people who commit violence against health workers to ensure the safety of doctors in their workplace.– Photo dantri.com.vn

The request was made after a reported increase in the number of attacks on health workers.

The ministry estimated there had been several tens of cases of assaults on health workers by patients or patients’ families in hospitals since early this year. Although the ministry has taken measures to tighten security in hospitals, the situation has not improved.

On Monday, a doctor at the Việt Nam-Cuba Hospital in central Đồng Hới City was punched by a patient’s relative when he was trying to break up a brawl at the hospital.

Dr Trần Thanh Sơn, deputy head of the hospital’s Emergency Department, suffered a corneal laceration.

Last Friday (October 20), Trần Thị Thanh Hải, deputy head of the medical clinic in central Hà Tĩnh Province’s Hương Long Commune, was stabbed several times in the arm with a knife. She had refused to give her attacker, Hoàng Xuân Hải, an IV as he was drunk.

The two doctors are still at undergoing treatment.

Last month, a video clip of a female doctor being slapped on her face by a patient’s relative sparked public outrage. Hoàng Thị Minh, doctor at central Nghệ An Province’s People 115 Hospital was slapped while giving emergency treatment to a patient.

Nguyễn Đình Hoàng Thắng, the attacker, admitted the assault, saying that he lost control as he watched his nephew bleeding severely.

In July, a doctor at northern Bắc Giang Province’s Việt Yên General Hospital was injured as a patient’ relative threw a medical instrument at his head.

The ministry’s Department of Medical Check-up and Treatment revealed that most assaults occurred at provincial-level hospitals, injuring doctors working late shifts.   

In reply to press on Wednesday, Tiến said she was very upset about the assaults on medical staff.

Assaulting a person on duty violated the law, and moreover, attacking a doctor treating a loved one was morally reprehensible, Tiến said.

The ministry had taken measures to strengthen security at hospitals, especially at night. However, in many cases security forces arrived too late to stop patients or their relatives’ assaults.  

“It seems that the health sector is alone in the fight against violence on health workers,” Tiến said.

Tiến said the ministry urgently asked authorised agencies to get tough on violence on health workers, including by launching legal proceeding against attackers.  

It also encouraged the public to strongly oppose violence on doctors, she added.

Nguyễn Trọng Khoa, deputy head of the Department of Medical Check-up and Treatment said that most doctors only cared about their professions and ignored bedside manner and having a friendly attitude towards patients and patients’ relatives.

Thus, the ministry is building a handbook for hospitals, which would help doctors to recognise psychological changes of patients or patients’ relatives and be able to protect themselves. – VNS