Mediation, not more security, the cure for hospital violence in China

Two attacks on doctors - one fatal - have prompted a fresh round of reflection in the mainland media on the long-standing problem of patient-doctor conflicts.

On October 21, a Guangzhou doctor suffered eye injuries and a ruptured spleen after being beaten up by a patient's relatives. Four days later, a patient attacked three doctors at Wenling No1 People's Hospital in Zhejiang with a knife and hammer, killing the facility's ear, nose and throat chief.

As is often the case, dissatisfaction over the handling of their illnesses seemed to be at the root of patients' decisions to act out. But so far the government has focused on improving hospital security rather than quieting anger.

The day after the Guangzhou attack, the National Health and Family Planning Commission and the Ministry of Public Security jointly issued guidelines saying hospitals should have at least one security guard for every 20 beds.

That failed to satisfy many mainland newspapers, such as the Southern Metropolis Daily, which called the security measures "simple and crude". It advocated a better mediation system to defuse conflicts between patients and doctors before they turn violent.

"[Hospitals] could avoid most conflicts if they expended more effort mediating and guiding - instead of providing no care to the patient and his family - after a dispute occurs," the paper said.

Indeed, the paper warned, increased security could actually increase tension by driving a bigger wedge between patients and medical staff.