KEY POINTS:
BEIJING - Pass the scalpel, nurse. Now the truncheon.
Doctors and nurses at a hospital in eastern China have told its administrators that they will use police truncheons and wear helmets to protect themselves from violent attacks by angry patients.
Staff at No 1 People's Hospital in Zhenjiang, Jiangsu province, also asked for 24-hour security guards and cameras after a spate of assaults that led to injuries and a number of resignations, the Beijing Youth Daily said.
Medical staff were suffering frequent attacks at work from patients and their relatives, ranging from cursing and death threats to serious beatings.
The Health Ministry recorded about 10,000 attacks on hospital staff last year over patient disputes, the China Daily reported.
Overcharging, bogus treatments and corruption are common in China.
In December, doctors and nurses at Shanxia hospital in Shenzhen were forced to wear hard hats on their rounds after being jostled and spat at for days by relatives seeking compensation over a patient's death.
- REUTERS
