Chinese surgeons punished for taking group snaps beside patient during operation

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Chinese surgeons punished for taking group snaps beside patient during operation

PUBLISHED : Monday, 22 December, 2014, 12:51pm
UPDATED : Monday, 22 December, 2014, 3:33pm

He Huifeng [email protected]



Say cheese: one of the photos of Chinese doctors and nurses taken during an operation at a Xian hospital, which sparked public anger. Photo: www.qianzhan.com

There's a time and a place for a jolly group photo ... and the operating theatre, when an anaesthetised patient is still being sewn up, probably isn't it.

Several surgeons and nurses at a Chinese hospital have been punished by health officials after taking a series of snaps showing themselves posing alongside a patient undergoing surgery.

Public anger was sparked when one of the doctors posted five of the pictures from the hospital in Xian, Shannxi Province, online, according to the Xian Evening News.

In one of the snaps, doctors and nurses link arms next to the unconscious patient and grin behind their masks, while two others continue to finish the procedure.



One of the selfie photos of Chinese doctors and nurses taken during an operation at a Xian hospital, which sparked public anger. Photo: www.qianzhan.com



Gather round: one doctor holds up a drip as doctors pose for a snap around the unconscious patient. Photo: www.qianzhan.com

Another shows the group making "V for victory" signs, while a third clearly shows the unconscious patient, with one of the snap-happy doctors holding up an intravenous drip bag.

Health officials, however, were not amused, quickly launching an investigation into the pictures and discovering they were were taken by medical staff at the private Fengcheng Hospital on August 15.

All of the hospital’s management staff and the doctors and nurses involved were deducted three months’ salary and given official warnings by the municipal health bureau.

The hospital’s management made a public apology on Sunday night, saying that staff had taken the pictures as souvenirs of their old operating room, which was due to be closed in favour of new facilities.

The hospital said it would ensure that it improved the management of its medical staff in future.

"We won't release any private information about the patient, like age, gender or what the operation was. What we are going to do now is to make a month-long rectification to manage medical staff," said director of the hospital's medical affairs department, who refused to give his name.



A patient's bandaged leg can be seen poking out from under the covers as doctors and nurses smile for the camera. Photo: www.qianzhan.com





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