Doctor's timely and life-saving decision widely praised online

A doctor in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu province, has won praises from netizens for his timely decision to sign the agreement paper for the medical surgery for a senior patient, reports Xinhua.

On January 4, a 63-year-old man fainted near the Gulou Square in Nanjing for sudden heart arrest.

Chinese doctors perform the operation at the operating room of a hospital in Beijing. [File photo: IC]

After the senior was moved to the nearby hospital, he recovered autonomous respiration but needed to have immediate surgery for the MI (Myocardial Infarction). Otherwise he may suffer from sudden death or serious brain injuries.

However, the patient's daughter could only make it to the hospital in an hour due to the heavy snow. As a result, there is no one to sign on the agreement paper for the surgery.

In such an emergency, Wang Jun, head of Emergency Department of Gulou Hospital made a decision to start the surgery and signed the agreement paper on behalf of the patient's daughter.

"All the consequences shall be undertaken by me. It's better to save a life than to be afraid of taking responsibilities," said Wang Jun.

Fortunately, the patient recovered after the timely surgery.

The story has been circulating on WeChat, one of the most popular social media platforms in China, and many netizens have praised Wang's timely, brave decision to take responsibilities.

It is a conventional practice in Chinese hospitals for the patients or family member of the patients to sign on the agreement paper before any medical surgeries. The move is to inform them of the potential dangers of the surgeries to the patient and to avoid dispute if accidents happen during the surgeries.

According to the latest interpretation of China's Supreme People's Court which took effect on December 14, 2017, if close relatives of a patient cannot be identified or reached, refuse to give an opinion, or cannot reach a consensus among themselves, medical institutions may proceed with emergency measures without the consent of close relatives. Compensation claims on the patient's side in such cases will not be upheld by court.