By Maurice Preter
BEIJING, July 5 (Xinhaunet) -- The recent spate of attacks on schoolchildren and the workers' suicides at the Foxconn factory in Shenzhen have again highlighted China's urgent need to balance economic progress with care for those left behind, and unable to cope with, the lightning speed of development.
Sustainable development is an avowed goal of Chinese government policy, and from a medical-psychological perspective, accessible, quality general medical and psychiatric care is a fundamental part of long-term, ecologically minded, peaceful societal progress.
However, it is an open secret that the medical profession in China is in disarray and rather ill-equipped to contribute to the solution of China's larger societal problems. Chinese physicians are overworked. They routinely see several dozen, if not a hundred patients a day, including those in urgent need of expert mental health treatment.
They are forced to accept absurdly low salaries and are consequently, generally disrespected. Pharmaceutical sales productivity incentives imposed by hospital administrations and by the wish to supplement meager earnings lead to a medical assembly line mentality that short-changes patients and frustrates doctors.
It comes as no surprise that, according to data cited in this newspaper (China Daily, March 25, 2010: "Doctors at receiving end in medical reform"), there are high levels of stress and depression among Chinese doctors.
Coincidentally or not, this year's most murderous school attack was perpetrated by a supposedly mentally ill physician.
