Doctor survives after patient slits his throat

A doctor whose throat was cut by an unhappy patient Tuesday, has survived the brutal assault and is in a stable condition.

Li Aixin was updating medical records in his office at the People’s Hospital of Yixian in Hebei province when a dissatisfied patient entered, slashed Li’s throat open with a knife and subsequently fled the scene. Witnesses said the doctor was given emergency treatment and was no longer at risk.

On Monday, another doctor was fatally assaulted by a patient at a hospital in Heilongjiang Province. Sun Dongtoa, head of the otolaryngological (ENT; ear, nose, throat) department in Qiqihar city, was repeatedly hit on the head with an iron bar while performing outpatient care duties. Sun died after emergency treatment failed. The suspect, surnamed Qi, was unhappy with treatment for a nose illness he received from Sun and wanted revenge, according to an initial police investigation.

Attacks on medical staff have been a frequent occurrence in China. Last October, another ENT doctor was stabbed to death over a failed nasal surgery in Zhejiang Province. The “nose job killer” was recently sentenced to death for his crime.

Deng Liqiang, director of the law department at the Chinese Medical Doctors Association, said it is very difficult to carry out security checks for every patient at a hospital. "Hospitals do not want to conduct security checks because there are so many patients."

[Image via Flickr]