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Shanghai helps dying patient who lacks guanxi
Source: Xinhua |
March 5, 2012, Monday
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A SHANGHAI teacher's online post voicing grievances about the treatment - actually lack of treatment - of his retired father with lung cancer has drawn widespread attention from the public, as well as a top Shanghai government official, who stepped in to help.
The post, written by high school teacher Qin Ling, was addressed to the city's top official Yu Zhengsheng.
Qin described himself as a "stressed-out" son and a "devoted Communist Party of China (CPC) member," adding that his 59-year-old father is a former state company employee who has been laid off for 14 years.
"In the past two months, we have suffered shock, grief and despair. But there is little we can do. My father's days are numbered," Qin wrote.
Qin's father was diagnosed with lung cancer in December, but was denied hospitalization by at least two public hospitals, Qin wrote. "I was helpless and bewildered when I was told by one hospital after another that they could not take him in."
When he accompanied his father to the emergency room in an ambulance, Qin said a doctor reminded him he had to "find connections." Guanxi, or personal relationships sometimes cultivated by gift-giving, is often an essential part of business and a way to cut through red tape and get things done in China.
Forced out
True to the doctor's words, Qin's father was forced out of the hospital after receiving emergency treatment and was later denied a bed at another hospital.
"Then, a general practitioner at our community clinic told me I had to lie about my father's disease, because no hospital wants to take in a cancer patient," Qin wrote.
During their many visits to the outpatient departments of Shanghai's public hospitals, Qin said doctors frequently prescribed costly medicine for his father, several of which were alleged "cure-alls" imported from India and available only at drugstores recommended by the doctors.
China's public hospitals have their own pharmacies, and doctors are required to prescribe only medicines that are available at those pharmacies. Doctors are also required to consult with patients first before prescribing any expensive medication that is not covered by the patients' medical insurance.
"I tried desperately to find 'connections,' telling one lie after another, and even bribed our 'connections' and doctors with cash rewards and gifts. As a CPC member, I know this is not right, but as a son, I have to do this for my father," Qin wrote.
At the end of his online post, Qin called for a safe and stable medical environment and affordable medication for all cancer patients.
"At the very least, we should avoid seeing terminal cancer patients die in loneliness and despair, with no medicine or a hospital bed," he wrote.
Qin's post went live on February 27, spreading quickly on Chinese social networks in the four days since.
On Wednesday night, Yu Zhengsheng, secretary of the Shanghai Municipal Committee of the CPC, responded formally using the city's official account on Sina weibo, a popular Chinese microblogging site.
Yu said he understood Qin's plight, which he said was exacerbated by defects in the medical system.
"We will do our best to help you and we appreciate your proposals ... I cannot guarantee a prompt solution, but we all feel your pain. Our common understanding, including that of the medical workers, will push us forward," Yu wrote.
Yu's statement was reposted nearly 10,000 times within two hours Wednesday night.
The post, written by high school teacher Qin Ling, was addressed to the city's top official Yu Zhengsheng.
Qin described himself as a "stressed-out" son and a "devoted Communist Party of China (CPC) member," adding that his 59-year-old father is a former state company employee who has been laid off for 14 years.
"In the past two months, we have suffered shock, grief and despair. But there is little we can do. My father's days are numbered," Qin wrote.
Qin's father was diagnosed with lung cancer in December, but was denied hospitalization by at least two public hospitals, Qin wrote. "I was helpless and bewildered when I was told by one hospital after another that they could not take him in."
When he accompanied his father to the emergency room in an ambulance, Qin said a doctor reminded him he had to "find connections." Guanxi, or personal relationships sometimes cultivated by gift-giving, is often an essential part of business and a way to cut through red tape and get things done in China.
Forced out
True to the doctor's words, Qin's father was forced out of the hospital after receiving emergency treatment and was later denied a bed at another hospital.
"Then, a general practitioner at our community clinic told me I had to lie about my father's disease, because no hospital wants to take in a cancer patient," Qin wrote.
During their many visits to the outpatient departments of Shanghai's public hospitals, Qin said doctors frequently prescribed costly medicine for his father, several of which were alleged "cure-alls" imported from India and available only at drugstores recommended by the doctors.
China's public hospitals have their own pharmacies, and doctors are required to prescribe only medicines that are available at those pharmacies. Doctors are also required to consult with patients first before prescribing any expensive medication that is not covered by the patients' medical insurance.
"I tried desperately to find 'connections,' telling one lie after another, and even bribed our 'connections' and doctors with cash rewards and gifts. As a CPC member, I know this is not right, but as a son, I have to do this for my father," Qin wrote.
At the end of his online post, Qin called for a safe and stable medical environment and affordable medication for all cancer patients.
"At the very least, we should avoid seeing terminal cancer patients die in loneliness and despair, with no medicine or a hospital bed," he wrote.
Qin's post went live on February 27, spreading quickly on Chinese social networks in the four days since.
On Wednesday night, Yu Zhengsheng, secretary of the Shanghai Municipal Committee of the CPC, responded formally using the city's official account on Sina weibo, a popular Chinese microblogging site.
Yu said he understood Qin's plight, which he said was exacerbated by defects in the medical system.
"We will do our best to help you and we appreciate your proposals ... I cannot guarantee a prompt solution, but we all feel your pain. Our common understanding, including that of the medical workers, will push us forward," Yu wrote.
Yu's statement was reposted nearly 10,000 times within two hours Wednesday night.
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