Six in 10 doctors verbally abused in China: Poll

Beijing: Nearly six in 10 Chinese doctors have been verbally abused by their patients and 64 per cent of them do not want their next generations to adopt the medical profession due to low job satisfaction, according to the results of a poll today.

Some 13.7 per cent of the 12,600 doctors polled by the Chinese Medical Doctor Association (CMDA) throughout last year have been found to be physically injured by their patients, making medical professionals target of violence and abuse.

A number of doctors have been killed in such disputes, leading to a peak in discussion about the problem of doctor- patient tensions, state-run Xinhua news agency reported citing the poll conducted by state-run People's Daily.

The poll also highlighted doctors' workloads, with 32.69 per cent of Chinese doctors working longer than 60 hours per week, far higher than the legally stipulated 40 hours.

Sixty per cent of doctors said they have low job satisfaction and 64 per cent do not want their next generations to become doctors.

Recent years have seen a rise in attacks on hospital staff resulting from medical disputes.

Patients often accuse doctors of rushing consultations and prescribing excessive, costly medicine.

Based on findings from the last year's poll and two previous polls in 2009 and 2011, the CMDA released a white paper on doctors' working conditions yesterday.

The white paper was compiled in the hope of raising public awareness about the strain doctors are under, the People's Daily quoted CMDA head Zhang Yanling as saying.

Last year saw 155 cases of violence against Chinese doctors, including many that resulted in serious injury or even death, the Supreme People's Court said on Tuesday.