On June 12th, a nurse at the First Affiliated Hospital of Hainan Medical College was injured by a patient wielding a knife during the night shift.
Reports circulating on mainland China’s internet on the 12th claimed that a nurse in Haikou was attacked by a patient with a knife during the night. The assailant was apprehended after the incident.
The incident occurred at the First Affiliated Hospital of Hainan Medical College, as reported by the New Beijing News. The local police station in the jurisdiction confirmed the incident. Staff at the hospital stated that the injured nurse is currently receiving treatment.
According to Jiemu News, an informant from the relevant department revealed that the patient got into an altercation with the nurse late at night while outside, leading to the nurse being slashed with a fruit knife.
Amid public scrutiny, in the early hours of the 13th, the First Affiliated Hospital of Hainan Medical College issued a situation report stating that the nurse was injured in the Neurology Department Ward 2 of the hospital.
On the afternoon of the 11th, the patient, Mr. Lin, was admitted for treatment. At the time, Mr. Lin was in a normal emotional state, displaying no signs of mental abnormality or medical disputes. At 12:01 a.m. on the 12th, while Nurse Cai was documenting nursing records, Mr. Lin suddenly came up behind her, grasping her neck and cutting at her neck with a fruit knife. Nurse Cai used her left hand to shield herself, resulting in a cut on the inside of her left upper arm from the fruit knife.
Other medical personnel in the department immediately restrained Mr. Lin, who was later arrested.
Nurse Cai was rushed to the operating room for emergency treatment. During surgery, a wound of about 7 cm long was found, with partial rupture of the flexor muscles on the ulnar side of the left wrist, arterial bleeding in the muscle, congestion and swelling of the ulnar nerve sheath, among other injuries.
Online discussions among netizens ensued.
“People can’t help but wonder, what drove him to such extremes?” “Aren’t hospitals supposed to have security checks now? How could someone bring a knife in?” “Knowing that his intention was to slit throats, it’s frightening to think about it now.”
In recent years, violent incidents stemming from disputes or conflicts between medical staff and patients have become more frequent.
On May 17, 2021, a violent incident occurred in the special consultation department of the Second People’s Hospital in Shenzhen. A man who had come for treatment stabbed a doctor who was about to see him.
In 2017, a orthopedic doctor in Jingjiang City, Jiangsu Province was stabbed to death in his clinic following a medical dispute with a patient.
Also in the same year, in Dong’an County, Yongzhou City, Hunan Province, a doctor was fatally stabbed seven times by someone who believed the doctor’s treatment led to kidney failure. The assailant suspected that the doctor was trying to harm him.