/ 26 December 2006

Chinese doctors fight off angry patients

Doctors and nurses at a hospital in southern China have donned combat gear after an incident in which angry relatives of a patient attacked hospital workers, state media reported on Tuesday.

The Shanxia Hospital in the boomtown of Shenzhen operated on a patient who suffered from bone fracture after a car accident early this month, but he died 17 days later of heart failure, the Beijing Times reported.

The relatives of the patient were outraged at his sudden death and on several occasions mobilised many people to harass hospital staff by scuffling and yelling at them as well as burning paper offerings on the premises.

After the incident, hospital management told workers to don protective gear such as helmets to protect themselves, the paper said.

The hospital entrance was also guarded by four security guards in camouflage uniforms. — AFP