Japan’s hospitals report more harassment by angry patients, reflecting similar incidents across society

Medical professionals say more patients are showing greater impatience and a lack of respect for doctors and nurses

There has also been an apparent rise in similar incidents of harassment in Japanese companies and schools

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Nurses at a Covid-19 mass vaccination centre in Tokyo on November 17, 2021. Photo: AFP

Published: 12:00pm, 10 Feb 2024

Medical professionals in Japan are reporting an increase in incidents of “patient harassment” involving arguments, abusive behaviour and even violence aimed at doctors and nurses.

Such aggression in the nation’s hospitals and clinics mirrors an apparent increase in such incidents in other areas of Japanese society, including sexual harassment complaints, managers causing “power harassment” in the workplace and “monster parents” imposing demands on teachers.

Medical professionals say they are witnessing more patients showing belligerent behaviour, greater impatience and a lack of respect for the knowledge of doctors and nurses. Such incidents often arise from arguments started by patients over treatment.

A nationwide survey on “patient harassment” shows 190 of the 379 hospitals and medical centres have reported “troubling incidents.” The study by the Fukuoka municipal medical association released in September is the first of its kind and there are no other comparable statistics available.

But interviews with medical professionals conducted by This Week in Asia suggest many of them believe such incidents are becoming more frequent.

In the medical association study, more than half of institutions said staff had been the target of abusive language, including threats, from patients unhappy about their care or payments. Some 40 per cent also reported angry responses from patients or their family members as the result of a delay in treatment?