Law protecting medical staff implemented

China's top legislature and health commission condemned the fatal stabbing of a doctor at a Beijing hospital by a patient's relative when the country's law on promotion of basic medical and healthcare was adopted on Dec 28.

"Instead of an easy medical dispute, the stabbing was a serious offense. Any damage to medical staff cannot be tolerated," said Zhao Ning, head of the Law and Regulation Division under the National Health Commission.

She made the remark at a press conference after the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, the top legislative body, voted to pass the country's first fundamental and comprehensive law on basic medical and healthcare on Saturday morning.

In a bid to deter illegal acts targeting medical staff and institutions, the law stipulates that the personal safety and dignity of medical workers must not be infringed upon and that their legitimate rights are protected by law.

Yang Wen, who was working in the emergency department at Civil Aviation General Hospital in the capital's Chaoyang district, was stabbed by Sun Wenbin, a patient's relative, on Dec 24, and the doctor died early the following day after her neck was seriously injured.

The city's prosecutors approved detaining the 55-year-old Sun for allegedly intentional homicide on Dec 27.

The just-adopted law calls for all people in all walks of life to care about and respect medical workers, keep the medical environment and service in order and establish better relationships between hospitals and patients, banning any organization or individual from threatening or harming the personal safety or dignity of medical staff.

It also clarifies that those disturbing the medical environment, threatening or harming medical workers' personal safety and dignity, or illegally obtaining, using or disclosing people's private healthcare information, will be given administrative punishments, such as detention or a fine.

Yuan Jie, an official from the Legislative Affairs Commission under the NPC Standing Committee, highlighted the protection for medical staff in the law, saying that injury to medical workers must be condemned and punished by both morality and the law.

On Dec 26, the Chinese Medical Doctor Association also strongly condemned the attack, calling for security improvement for medical staff. "We hope a safety net is being built so incidents of violence against doctors and nurses will not happen again," the association said in a statement.