Patients have right to best care possible

A Chinese doctor talks with family members of a young patient as he examines him with a Type-b Ultrasonic Diagnostic Instrument at a hospital in Beijing, China, 11 September 2013. [Photo/IC]

A VIDEO CLIP of a doctor at a hospital in Yancheng, East China's Jiangsu province, playing a smartphone card game while supposedly conducting a medical check for a patient went viral on Saturday. The hospital said later that day the doctor had been criticized and fined 2,000 yuan ($300). Beijing News commented on Monday:

Public hospitals are not a business, but a public service. They have a duty to care for patients and they are required to provide considerate medical services.

If patients cannot enjoy good medical services, they will no doubt feel frustrated and outraged, especially if doctors seem to not be fully committed to caring for patients and instead appear to be more interested in playing games on their phones.

Public hospitals are charged with arranging appropriate emergency services, simplifying registration procedures and shortening the waiting times. The doctor who played video games ignored these requirements.

For a patient, it is still difficult to see a doctor. The National Health and Family Planning Commission, which is the executive agency responsible for ensuring the accessibility of health services, should make doctors who ignore patients bear the responsibility for not doing their jobs to the best of their abilities.

If patients have to wait for a long time to see a doctor, the hospital should apologize to patients and provide some financial compensation. By doing so, doctors will be compelled by the hospital management to treat patients with kindness and give them their full attention.