Over 87% look to rebuild doctor-patient trust

According to a survey published on Tuesday, more than 87 percent of respondents expect to rebuild doctor-patient trust following recent assaults on medical workers in China. The survey, which sampled 252,283 people and was conducted by the survey center of the China Youth Daily, shows that 66.8 percent of those surveyed said they do not trust doctors' professional diagnosis and treatment. Some 30.4 percent of respondents attribute current medical disputes to a lack of public welfare services, which should be provided by public hospitals, and 27.4 percent said negative news reports worsened such disputes, according to the survey. Other reasons ranging from uneven distribution of medical resources, intensive physical workload, and the knowledge gap between patients and doctors are blamed for the loss of doctor-patient trust, the survey said. On Oct. 25, a doctor was stabbed to death and two others injured by a dissatisfied patient at a hospital in east China's Zhejiang Province. In the same week, a doctor in Guangzhou, capital of south China's Guangdong Province, was beaten up by a patient's family members. Violence against medical staff is on the rise, according to a previous sample survey by the Chinese Hospital Association conducted from December 2012 to July 2013. The annual average number of assaults on doctors per hospital increased from 20.6 in 2008 to 27.3 in 2012, according to the survey, which polled staff and patients at 316 hospitals. "Courses in medical colleges focus more on medical techniques, but there are few courses on communication," Wang Zhong, vice head of Tsinghua University Hospital, was quoted by the newspaper as saying, adding that inadequate communication is the root of a majority of medical disputes. Wang said that the assault of medical staff destroys hospital order and should be curbed and condemned as it brings panic to doctors, which ultimately results in decreased service by doctors. Chinese Vice Premier Liu Yandong pledged to curb assaults on medical workers at a meeting last week, noting that the government will launch a year-long campaign to enhance security arrangements at hospitals and improve coordination between hospitals and police.