"Medical staff are not machines, but people with hearts"

On the morning of October 29, speaking about the socio -economic situation, delegate Tran Khanh Thu (Hung Yen) said that the Government's report assessed the first achievement of the term as successfully controlling the Covid-19 pandemic with the spirit of "putting the health and lives of the people first and foremost".

Medical staff are repeatedly assaulted.

According to the delegate, the image of the frontline force, the image of the white-shirted soldiers has become a shining symbol of bravery, enthusiasm, strongly promoting the Vietnamese spirit and Vietnamese mettle.

However, Ms. Thu asked: "Have these soldiers worked in a safe environment during peacetime?" "That is the question that haunts me, a delegate working in the health sector," Ms. Thu said.

Medical staff are not machines, but people with hearts - 1

Delegate Tran Khanh Thu speaks during the discussion (Photo: Minh Chau).

According to Ms. Thu, at the 9th session, she reported on the issue that has caused much outrage in the medical industry when many consecutive cases of violence against medical staff have occurred in recent times.

The delegate said the incident that occurred when the child was taken to the emergency room at a hospital in Nam Dinh has sparked a wave of criticism.

According to Ms. Thu, people's emotions are inevitable when witnessing the pain of a family whose child has an accident, but "please do not rush to make conclusions, because accidents are not always the fault of medical staff."

Citing evidence, the female delegate said that two days after that incident, another assault on medical staff occurred in Nam Dinh, when the people on duty were abused, but the criticism continued, "What must have happened to be assaulted like that?"

"There was no community voice to protect the medical staff and after 2 days, the patient's family apologized for being impatient and worried. Then everything fell silent again," Ms. Thu lamented.

The delegate cited the incident on October 23 at Nghe An Obstetrics and Pediatrics Hospital, where a medical staff member actually bled right at work. This time, the incident happened right in the neonatal ward, which should have been the "most peaceful place in the hospital."

"We cannot let such a sacred place gradually turn into a hotbed of violence. Medical staff are already under a lot of pressure, they need to be protected so they can fully concentrate on saving lives," Ms. Thu emphasized.

Many health policies have been issued to improve the health care system with the aim of creating a safe working environment, "but are health workers really safe?", the female delegate asked.

"Five minutes after the patient's family members committed the violence, the hospital security force arrived immediately, but four medical staff, two patient relatives, and a newborn baby were injured. Among them, our female nurse suffered 11 wounds, four of which were fatal wounds penetrating the chest and two branches of the subclavian artery were severed," said Ms. Thu.

The female delegate said that these incidents were predicted long ago and in reality still occur and tend to be more frequent and more serious.

Need for a mechanism to protect medical staff

Ms. Thu also emphasized that medical staff are always ready to face responsibility and danger, and the medical industry cannot develop without protection and support for those working in the profession.

"We are not machines, but people with hearts and we also need sympathy and respect. We do not make excuses for any mistakes, but there must be a mechanism to protect medical staff in all situations, so that we can work with peace of mind without fear of being blamed or abused when an incident occurs," Ms. Thu emphasized.

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The perpetrator was arrested after stabbing many medical staff at Nghe An Maternity and Pediatrics Hospital (Photo: Contributor).

She said that in recent years, many outstanding and practical health policies have been issued, but the female delegate said that there is still a lack of legal protection for health workers while they are trying to treat patients.

Ms. Thu proposed adding to the National Assembly's Resolution on the 2026 socio-economic development plan the content of ensuring that medical staff work in a safe medical environment.

Accordingly, those who violate the body, health, life or insult the honor and dignity of medical staff at medical facilities, depending on the nature and severity of the violation, will be subject to administrative sanctions or criminal prosecution.

Along with that, using force, threatening to use force or using other tricks to obstruct medical staff when performing their duties at medical facilities is an act of resisting people on duty.

In addition, she also requested that the authorities consider recognizing martyrs in cases of medical staff who died while on duty and war invalids when medical staff were injured...

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/thoi-su/nhan-vien-y-te-khong-phai-nhung-co-may-ma-la-nhung-con-nguoi-co-trai-tim-20251029122204155.htm