"Woman's anus sewn up in retaliation." The seriousness of the hospital gratuity issue that has surfaced due to allegations.
[Social News] 2010/07/30 (Fri) 12:17
Searchina Research Institute (Shanghai Searchina) conducted a survey on its website, "Xinqin Survey," regarding the issues of medical staff receiving "gratuity" in Chinese hospitals. Over 50% of respondents considered the issues to be "very serious" or "fairly serious."
An incident occurred at a hospital in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, in which a pregnant woman had her anus sewn up during childbirth as retaliation for the doctor's insufficient gratuity. In light of this allegation, the issue of hospital gratuity has once again drawn attention in China.
At a hospital in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, the husband of a victim claimed, "My wife received unnecessary stitches around her anus during childbirth. I believe this was retaliation for the doctor's insufficient compensation."
In response, the hospital and authorities claimed, "The woman had hemorrhoids, so the midwife simply tied the stitches as a courtesy."
It is possible that the woman and her husband were mistaken about this being retaliation for the insufficient compensation. The truth is still unclear.
However, there is no doubt that the background to the widespread attention this "suspicion" has received is the fact that "medical staff are receiving compensation" and "there is effectively coercion (to provide "compensation" to doctors)."
In a survey asked, "Is the issue of medical staff receiving compensation serious in the area where you live?" 28.6% of respondents said it was "very serious," and 25.6% said it was "fairly serious," with over 50% of respondents saying it was "serious." 10.1% of respondents considered it to be "not serious."
When asked, "Do you support the practice of giving gratuities at hospitals?" 15.5% said "in favor," 52.4% said "against," and 32.1% said it "depends on the situation."
[Related Articles/Information]
- Suspicion of Suturing a Woman's Anus During Childbirth... Midwife in Controversy Attends Press Conference = Guangdong (July 30, 2010)
- Woman Whose Anus Was Stitched During Childbirth Suspicion of "Low Remuneration and Retaliation" = China (July 28, 2010)
- Man with Glass Vial in Rectum Finally Removed After Four Hours of Surgery - Jiangsu (June 21, 2010)
- In China, Where Sex Selection is Banned, Hospitals Find Loopholes to Increase Revenue (February 21, 2009)
- Man's Rectum Torn After Eel Is Inserted Up His Anus, Leaving Him in Critical Condition - China (April 28, 2010)
※Japan as Seen from International Blogs, How the World Views Japan - Searchina International Blog
Suspicion of "Suturing an Anus in Retaliation" Emerges... Over 50% of Hospitals Deem the Issue of Hospital Remuneration "Serious" 2010/07/30 (Fri) 12:17:36 [Searchina]
http://news.searchina.ne.jp/disp.cgi?y=2010&d=0730&f=national_0730_077.shtml
Westerners reading this news might wonder, "Did the doctor ask for a tip?" However, this kind of bad practice, longstanding in East Asian countries (Japan, Korea, and China), is more of a bribe than a tip. Even if a private businessperson receives a "gratuity," it does not constitute bribery under the Criminal Code. However, as the above-mentioned article points out, in most cases, the person is forced to pay a "gratuity" in addition to the actual payment, or is "effectively coerced."
The widespread problem of bribery in China is known better than anyone else by the Chinese themselves, and China's ruling class (elites) has long struggled to eradicate it.
Until recently, the issue of offering "gratuities" to medical staff existed in Japan as well. While the practice has "died" since the establishment of the health insurance system, this bad practice has not disappeared. Questions like "Do you pay gratuities?" and "How much should I pay?" are often found on online question sites.
In Japan, there are well-known stories of parents being asked (effectively extorted) to pay huge amounts of "donations" before their students take the medical school entrance exam (which often leads to legal uproar, such as the Saitama Medical University Hospital incident), and it is said that the exam results depend on the amount of the donation (of course, no such "evidence" remains, so there is no point in complaining later).
This is a fact that all Japanese people know, but it is also a fact that no one wants to talk about.
It is generally said that one donation to medical school costs 10 million yen, and the ranking of applicants is determined by "how many donations (their parents) make."
Naturally, only special, extremely wealthy families can afford such large sums, and inevitably, all medical school applicants are the children of doctors (private practitioners).
In Japan, doctors and politicians are effectively a special type of hereditary aristocracy, with their position usually being passed down for three or four generations.
Furthermore, a special guild-like group of doctors (the "Medical Association," a guild-like political pressure group that spreads throughout Japan at the municipal, prefectural, and national levels) has become allied with conservative political parties (mostly the Liberal Democratic Party), causing a variety of problems, not just bribery.
Japanese macaques are cunning creatures, so today they no longer blatantly demand money as a "fee," but have instead changed the "form" and adopted the method of "mailing" "presents" such as "year-end gifts," "mid-year gifts," and "newyear gifts."
The important Boss Monkey who receive the "presents" take them to specialty stores and exchange them for gift certificates or money.
The cash exchangers then sell the "presents" to retailers and other outlets at prices lower than the normal market price. Retailers put these "presents" (which, even if unopened, are in fact second-hand, as they have been passed on to someone else and then resold) on display in stores (as seasonal, unsold goods) at a price significantly discounted from the regular price. (Former) "presents" are sold as customer-drawing items in the corners of supermarkets, in discount stores, on internet shops, and over the phone.
Who came up with this idea?
It's a truly cunning method. And it's a very Japanese macaque-like thing to do.
