CEO dismissed, doctor suspended after 82-year-old punched during surgery
A surveillance video of an operation that took place in 2019 shows a surgeon at Aier Hospital in Guigang City punching a patient during an operation.
The CEO of a hospital in south China has been dismissed and a surgeon suspended, Aier China announced on Friday, after a video showing the surgeon punching a patient during an operation sparked public outcry.
The video, posted by the Weibo user "Emergency Sunflower Aifen," showed the incident at Aier Eye Hospital in Guigang City, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, where the surgeon punched a patient in the head at least three times while operating on her eyes.
The blogger said the female patient made noises on the operating table due to pain. However, instead of calming the patient, the doctor punched her in the head. After surgery, the patient went blind in her left eye. When her family sought the truth, the doctor denied hitting the patient.
Aier China released a statement on Thursday night, stating that the incident occurred on December 12, 2019, and the patient, an 82-year-old woman, was experiencing discomfort during surgery due to local anesthesia. She frequently turned her head and eyes, which could have led to complications, according to the statement.
As the patient could only speak a local dialect and did not respond to the doctor's Mandarin warnings, the surgeon "treated the patient roughly in an emergency situation."
After the incident, the patient's family complained, and after explanations and apologies, Aier China claimed the doctor and patient had resolved the misunderstanding and reached an understanding.
However, Aier China said the hospital failed to report the incident to headquarters, and the doctor's behavior was against medical rules. On Thursday, it announced the dismissal of the Guigang hospital CEO and the suspension of the surgeon – who is also the hospital's dean – over "serious violations of the group's regulations."
Earlier, Guigang Aier Eye, in a statement on Thursday morning, similarly asserted that there was no intention to harm the patient during the surgery. Although there was a misunderstanding after the operation, the two sides had eliminated the misunderstanding and reached an understanding.
Aier China has not responded to the allegation that the doctor assaulted the patient, causing her to lose her sight.
