Medical associations, civic groups and lawmakers yesterday voiced support for a “zero tolerance stance” against violence in medical facilities, after an emergency room (ER) doctor was assaulted by a patient’s son.
On May 6, actor Chen Ching-ta (陳清達) accompanied his mother to the emergency room of Changhua Christian Hospital.
Surveillance footage showed that a few minutes after arriving at the hospital, Chen punched the emergency room physician, resulting in a hematoma in the back of the the doctor’s head.
Jan Chun-chi (詹淳淇), a member of the Taiwan Medical Alliance for Labor Justice and Patient Safety’s (TMAL) Committee of Legal Study and Global Think Tank, said that Chen repeatedly shouted that his mother needed a ventilator, although the physician said she needed intubation — a procedure that requires a family member’s consent.
“While Chen Ching-ta accused the doctor of delaying treatment, his action alone interrupted the process by more than a minute,” Jan said.
“Chen’s assault against healthcare providers was not the first and might not be the last as violence in the ER is on the rise and the doctor-patient relationship deteriorating,” Jan said.
“Eighty percent of ER staff have encountered verbal and physical abuse and more than 30 percent have been physically attacked,” said Yen Zui-shen (顏瑞昇), a member of the Taiwan Society of Emergency Medicine.
TMAL chairman Chong Chee-fah (張志華) said that doctors nowadays carry audio recording devices or event data recorders to protect themselves.
Chang, Yen, Democratic Progressive Party legislators Liu Chien-kuo (劉建國) and Tien Chiu-chin (田秋堇) and Taiwan Solidarity Union Legislator Lin Shih-chia (林世嘉) called for stationing police at hospitals and legal revisions, making infringements on medical safety an offense against public safety and therefore an indictable offense.
However, Taiwan Healthcare Reform Foundation chief executive officer Joanne Liu (劉淑瓊) expressed her concern over making violence at medical facilities a criminal offense without providing appropriate supporting measures.
“We are not pitting the ER against patients. We must keep in mind that hospital administrators and the government — the Department of Health and the Council of Labor Affairs — play a big role here,” Liu said.
“It is more crucial for hospitals to work on violence prevention measures such as personnel training and crisis management before any possible violent assault and a debriefing mechanism thereafter,” said Liu, adding that hospitals should also improve manpower allocation and strengthen physician-patient communication.
“More needs to be done on the government’s part as well. The Council of Labor Affairs in 2007 drafted regulations ordering hospitals to ensure workplace safety, but this draft was aborted in the end,” Liu said.
“It’s a shame that the policy on the issues of occupational safety has long been exceedingly influenced by the hospital administrators,” Liu added.
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was sentenced to six months in prison, commutable to a fine, by the New Taipei District Court today for contravening the Personal Data Protection Act (個人資料保護法) in a case linked to an alleged draft-dodging scheme. Wang allegedly paid NT$3.6 million (US$114,380) to an illegal group to help him evade mandatory military service through falsified medical documents, prosecutors said. He transferred the funds to Chen Chih-ming (陳志明), the alleged mastermind of a draft-evasion ring, although he lost contact with him as he was already in detention on fraud charges, they said. Chen is accused of helping a
SECURITY: Starlink owner Elon Musk has taken pro-Beijing positions, and allowing pro-China companies to control Taiwan’s critical infrastructure is risky, a legislator said Starlink was reluctant to offer services in Taiwan because of the nation’s extremely high penetration rates in 4G and 5G services, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said yesterday. The ministry made the comments at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, which reviewed amendments to Article 36 of the Telecommunications Management Act (電信管理法). Article 36 bans foreigners from holding more than 49 percent of shares in public telecommunications networks, while shares foreigners directly and indirectly hold are also capped at 60 percent of the total, unless specified otherwise by law. The amendments, sponsored by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Ko
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
‘SAME OLD TRICK’: Even if Beijing resumes individual travel to Taiwan, it would only benefit Chinese tourism companies, the Economic Democracy Union convener said China’s 10 new “incentives” are “sugar-coated poison,” an official said yesterday, adding that Taiwanese businesses see them clearly for what they are, but that Beijing would inevitably find some local collaborators to try to drums up support. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, made the remark ahead of a news conference the General Chamber of Commerce is to hold today. The event, titled “Industry Perspectives on China’s Recent Pro-Taiwan Policies,” is expected to include representatives from industry associations — such as those in travel, hotels, food and agriculture — to request the government cooperate with China’s new measures, people familiar with
RSS