2 days ago
China's top medical bosses taken to task after doctor abandons surgery to defend mistress
BEIJING: Several top university and hospital administrators in China have been held accountable after a noted thoracic surgeon left an anaesthetised patient for over half an hour to confront a nurse in defence of his mistress, a junior doctor.
The punishments respond to widespread public anger over the scandal, which broke in April, as well as questions about hospital management, professional ethics, and accountability within China's medical institutions.
A total of 19 officials from five prestigious institutions had been disciplined, the National Health Commission (NHC) said in a statement on Friday (Aug 15).
The measures included severe warnings from the ruling Communist Party, disciplinary penalties, demotions and dismissals, it said.
Party mouthpiece People's Daily welcomed the move, with a commentary published on Saturday calling the NHC's handling of the matter 'authoritative and serious'.
The investigation and disciplinary measures helped to restore public confidence in the healthcare sector and medical practitioners, it added. Institutions censured include the China-Japan Friendship Hospital, Peking Union Medical College (PUMC), Peking Union Medical College Hospital and the University of Science and Technology Beijing (USTB), which have been ordered to rectify their practices.
The scandal came to light after Xiao Fei, the deputy chief of thoracic surgery at the China-Japan Friendship Hospital, was accused by his wife of having a string of affairs within the medical fraternity, including a nurse and a junior doctor, as well as other staff at the Beijing hospital.
In a nine-page open letter on social media, she also said that Xiao had left an anaesthetised patient on the operating table for 40 minutes in July last year while he argued with a senior nurse who had criticised Dong Xiying, a junior doctor who was assisting the surgery and was his lover.
Hospital authorities confirmed the incident after an internal investigation, and said they had decided to fire Xiao and revoke his party membership.
Xiao, 39, told Chinese media at the time that while he had problems in his personal life, his medical ethics remained 'flawless'.
Amid the public outcry, scrutiny quickly turned to Dong, as doubts emerged about the legitimacy of her medical credentials.
Dong, who is in her 20s, graduated in economics before transferring to the medical field through PUMC's pilot '4+4' programme.
This enables non-medical graduates to complete a Doctor of Medicine degree and a shortened residency within just four years, in a drive aimed at overcoming barriers to medical education and attracting multidisciplinary talent.
Traditional Chinese medical training typically requires at least 10 years of study and training for a doctor, including three years of residency.
In May, authorities revoked the medical licences of Xiao and Dong. However, public scepticism lingers regarding the trustworthiness of China's leading hospitals and the fairness and credibility of its medical and educational systems.
The scandal sparked heated debates online, with comments from millions of web users and viral cartoons and memes.
One cartoon that went viral showed a patient on a hospital bed confessing that he had been admitted through nepotism, with the surgeon responding, 'Me too,' while several nurses in attendance said the same.
Finally, the virus asks, 'Am I the only one who made it here on my own merit?'
Though Dong's doctoral dissertation dealt with radiology, she could frequently participate in major thoracic surgeries during her residency, and even served as the lead author of several academic reports.
NHC investigators later found that her transcript from USTB was forged, implicating administrators from multiple prestigious universities and hospitals, and exposing systemic loopholes and power-seeking practices.
Friday's statement said the NHC had ordered PUMC to conduct a comprehensive overhaul of its '4+4' programme, including strengthening the screening of applicants and clinical internship management. Yet questions continue to hang in the public mind.
'To be honest, such punishments fall far short of a deterrent effect,' wrote one social media user.
'If there is such serious academic corruption and nepotism in top-tier institutions and hospitals, how much worse might it be in ordinary ones across the country?'
Shao Xiu, a retired doctor in the southern city of Guangzhou, called the situation 'terrifying'.
'So many administrators from premium universities and hospitals could recklessly help an outsider become a thoracic surgeon. Such handling cannot restore public trust,' Shao said. - South China Morning Post
