Want China Times,
Xinhua 2012-11-25
A anti-AIDS event held in Zhengzhou. (File photo/Xinhua) |
China's
health authorities on Friday issued a circular banning health institutions from
denying medical treatment to the people living with HIV/AIDS.
In the
circular, the Ministry of Health ordered health authorities at all levels to
take substantial measures to guarantee HIV/AIDS patients' rights to medical
treatment as well as the safety of health professionals.
It said
hospitals should offer appropriate medical care to an HIV/AIDS patient whose
condition is discovered during the course of outpatient, inpatient and
emergency treatments, as well as voluntary HIV/AIDS counseling and testing.
Hospitals should not send them to another hospital or refuse to treat them.
Hospitals
unable to offer necessary treatments should refer the patient to another
designated hospital or ask local health authorities to arrange a referral, the
ministry said.
If a
patient's condition means that he or she can not be transferred, health
authorities should designate doctors and nurses to perform medical services at
the hospital where the patient has been admitted.
Furthermore,
the circular said transgressors will face harsh punishments.
It was
recently reported that Xiaofeng, the pseudonym of a 25-year-old lung cancer
patient in Tianjin, was denied medical treatment after his HIV-positive status
was detected. He eventually got the surgery he needed after concealing his
condition.
Tianjin's
municipal health bureau announced on Thursday that preliminary investigations
show that Tianjin Cancer Hospital neglected its duties.
Vice
premier Li Keqiang also asked to guarantee the rights of people with HIV/AIDS
to medical treatment, after he learned about the plight of Xiaofeng.
According
to the ministry's official website, Li said that people with HIV/AIDS should
not be discriminated against, and that work should be done to guarantee the
safety of doctors and nurses treating HIV-positive patients.
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