Doctor with 30 years of experience in psychiatry tells story of being assaulted by patient

Many times assaulted by patients

On the morning of February 27, celebrating Vietnamese Doctors' Day, doctors and nurses were still busy working at the acute male department (Ha Tinh Mental Hospital).

Doctor Nguyen Tien Hung examines a patient - Photo: LE MINH

Doctor Nguyen Tien Hung - head of the acute male department - diligently visited each hospital bed to examine and ask about the health of the patients being treated here.

Doctor Hung said that this job has been with him for 30 years and has left him with many memories.

Unlike other hospitals, the majority of patients in the acute care unit are male and do not cooperate with treatment. As a specialized field, the medical staff here face more hardships and are even attacked by patients.

Many years ago, when Dr. Hung was examining a mental patient living in Duc Tho district, although the patient was fixed on the bed for treatment upon admission at the request of the family, during the process of struggling, the patient's handcuffs slipped and hit him directly on the forehead, causing bleeding.

Another case is a patient in Dai Nai ward (Ha Tinh city) who was hospitalized for treatment in a state of mental disorder.

When Dr. Hung entered the patient's room to examine him, he was suddenly splashed with a bucket of dirty liquid by a patient.

During his 30 years in the profession, Mr. Hung has witnessed male doctors and nurses in the acute care unit being assaulted by patients many times. It is not uncommon for doctors to have their shirts torn and threatened by patients.

There were cases where the hospital had to rely on police intervention to control the patient.

After so many years working in the psychiatric department, encountering many difficult situations, Dr. Hung still sticks with and loves his job. He said that a doctor who accepts to enter this profession must be dedicated, courageous and have love for the patients.

Still many concerns

Doctor Nguyen Tien Hung talks about the time a patient hit him in the forehead - Photo: LE MINH

Doctor Hung said that despite being committed to the profession, the medical team still has many concerns about income and needs professional staff.

The acute department in men currently lacks doctors and nurses, while attracting human resources is difficult. On the contrary, the number of doctors and nurses retiring or transferring jobs every year still occurs.

According to Dr. Nguyen Van Manh - Deputy Director of Ha Tinh Mental Hospital, the hospital is currently facing many difficulties in terms of facilities, human resources as well as economic autonomy.

For example, the acute male department was originally reserved for this department only, but now the facilities here are divided into 3 departments, including acute male department; pediatric rehabilitation department and addiction identification area for drug users.

This has limited space, affecting different departments in the process of examining and treating patients on the same campus.

According to the project, Ha Tinh Mental Hospital has 94 staff members but currently only 64 people are assigned. Of the 12 doctors, only 6 have a certificate to practice psychiatry.

Hospitals are currently given nearly 56% autonomy, while technical services are rarely used by patients, due to many reasons, leading to difficulties in hospital autonomy.

One of the objective factors affecting screening and treatment is that there is still stigma and inferiority complex, leading to many people showing signs of mental illness but their families hide it and do not take them to the hospital for timely examination, leading to patients attacking others when their condition worsens.

In the coming time, Ha Tinh Mental Hospital will organize propaganda topics to help people better understand information about mental health disorders, thereby hoping that people will no longer have a stigmatizing mentality, and will soon detect patients and bring them to the right specialized facility for examination and treatment.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/bac-si-30-nam-lam-viec-o-chuyen-khoa-tam-than-ke-chuyen-bi-benh-nhan-hanh-hung-20240227123657779.htm