A male nurse was punched and kicked in the stomach by one family member.

Numerous opinions have been voiced regarding a video showing the medical staff at Thanh Ba District Medical Center in Phu Tho struggling to perform CPR on a child while the patient’s family shouted, cursed, and physically assaulted them. 

The boy was injured in a traffic accident, suffering from brain hemorrhage. After receiving antibiotics, he showed signs of anaphylactic shock: difficulty breathing, rapid pulse, and plummeting blood pressure before entering cardiac arrest.

Despite the chaos, the medical team still succeeded in reviving the boy. After 20 minutes, he regained consciousness, responded to questions, his blood pressure stabilized, and he began breathing through an oxygen cannula, communicating normally.

Such disrespectful behavior from patients’ families is not rare for emergency doctors.

Dr. P.H.T., who once worked at the emergency department of a hospital in HCM City, said he quit the job due to trauma from such experiences. During a tense cardiac arrest case, T. was grabbed by a man demanding immediate stitches for a relative’s forearm injury (already treated with pain relief and confirmed non-fractured via X-ray). The man threatened to call the hospital leaders and ask to fire the doctor.

In another case, a 10-year-old girl was brought to hospital because a fishbone was stuck in her throat. The emergency staff tried to coordinate with the ENT department to remove the bone and told family members to wait 30 minutes. However, the father of the patient requested immediate action though there was no sign of vital danger. Ignoring doctors’ explanations, the father filmed the staff, and choked a doctor while issuing threats.

“The hospital security guards came and intervened, but the man still challenged us, saying he’d ‘beat us to death’ if we stepped outside,” Dr. T. recalled.

Dr. T. also witnessed a colleague stabbed with a pocketknife by a patient’s relative. The patient, in severe respiratory distress and on an oxygen mask, needed to urinate. A nurse provided a bedside urinal, but the family objected, hurled insults, and injured the nurse with the knife.

T. noted that many patients’ relatives are overly anxious during emergencies, but they don’t understand that their disruptions endanger lives by wasting critical time.

The harsh realities of medicine

After viewing the video of Thanh Ba district medical center, Associate Professor Nguyen Hoai Nam, a senior lecturer at HCM City University of Medicine and Pharmacy, remarked that the medical staff stayed focused despite immense pressure and fear. Fortunately, the boy was successfully resuscitated.

“I’ve seen many such incidents while working at Cho Ray Hospital in HCM City. Family members bring patients to hospital and stay to monitor, some ready to attack if staff don’t comply with their requests,” Nam said.

Some patients view healthcare as a paid service, expecting absolute results, with interactions often lacking empathy. They may be cordial when seeking help but turn hostile, cursing or assaulting staff when outcomes falter.

Yet, doctors and nurses persist, driven by the mission to save lives.

In other countries, families are barred from emergency areas. In Vietnam, some hospitals allow relatives in these zones, contributing to violence against staff. Even when asked to leave, some refuse.

In other countries, patients’ relatives are barred from emergency areas. In Vietnam, some hospitals allow relatives to enter these areas, contributing to violence against staff. Even when asked to leave, some refuse.

Nam suggested medical facilities install clear signage prohibiting family access to emergency rooms, allowing visits if necessary.

He explained that anaphylactic shock, as in the Thanh Ba case, results from an overactive immune response to substances like food, drugs, or insect bites. This life-threatening condition can block airways or stop the heart, requiring immediate intervention to prevent fatal outcomes.

Readers have condemned family members in Thanh Ba case. 

Reader Hue expressed her view: “Watching the entire clip, I felt outraged on behalf of the medical staff. Some family members, feeling entitled as victims, readily curse and even assault others while their relatives are being treated.”

She argued that the law must be stricter, suggesting that cursing doctors during their duties should be criminalized.

Reader Tran Son Duong noted that repeated incidents of families abusing and assaulting doctors demand action. Hospitals and the health sector must implement measures to protect medical staff, ensuring a safe working environment so they can focus on saving lives.

Vo Thu