[1] National Ministry of Health statistics indicate that the number of violent incidents against hospitals and medical staff increased from about 10,000 in 2005 to more than 17,000 in 2010.
As most patients lack medical knowledge, they have to rely on doctors' expertise during the entire treatment process.
This great sense of psychological loss, as well as the life and economic pressure suffered by patients during the treatment, will eventually lead to their violent behavior towards medical personnel.
[6] The lack of understanding of medical science and the high expectation of treatment are also critical reasons that could spark violent behaviours.
For example, on May 11, 2002, Yuan Xiaoping, a doctor at the First Affiliated Hospital of South China University in Hengyang City, Hunan Province, was attacked and insulted by a violent mob of a hundred people, as parents of the child could not accept the death, causing them to vent their dissatisfaction on the doctor.
[12] To protect themselves, Chinese doctors have been known to avoid communicating with patients about their conditions and carefully deal with possible complications and accidents through complex examinations.
Due to fear of making mistakes and general mistrust from patients, doctors have been known to organise unnecessary diagnostic tests and treatments.
After economic reforms, the Hospitals are now receiving very limited financial support from the government, thus forcing them to operate for-profit.
Patients' dissatisfaction with doctors, caused by inflated drug prices, has become an important reason for the deterioration of doctor-patient relations, especially after its exposure by the media and the government.
[16] This incident has also attracted the attention of People.cn, and it has also been reprinted by media with a larger impression such as the South China Morning Post.
[18] A 2013 article in the British Medical Journal describes Yi Nao gangs as consisting "largely of unemployed people with a designated leader.
[22] However, increased implementation of security guards, metal detectors, and legal threats has been criticised as failing to address the underlying causes of the violence.