Watching fugitive Chang Hsi-ming (張錫銘) being admitted to an emergency department in Taichung county on the TV news last night, it was readily apparent that doctors were being severely hampered in their attempts to move their critically-injured patient through the hospital.
The wildly chaotic jumble of cameramen, photographers and news reporters thronging around Chang's hospital trolley was a sight to behold.
The media have no place in hospitals. Apart from privacy issues, the media are all too often getting in the way of doctors who are trying to give life-saving treatment to their patients.
Hospital security staff have little chance against the frenzied hordes of media persons who regularly force their way into hospitals to harass patients and medical staff.
Therefore, the Department of Health should send a warning to TV stations and newspapers that this behavior will not be tolerated. In the interests of health, safety and privacy, the media should be kept out of all hospitals and clinics, with no exceptions.
Peter Wilds
Taichung
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