With violence on the rise in Chinese hospitals (see WiC252), the authorities are coming up with some innovative solutions to calm angry patients. The People’s Daily recently posted photos of one new initiative at the First People’s Hospital in Zhengzhou city. The hospital has dressed 20 of its nurses in flight stewardess uniforms and stationed them at the entrance to greet new arrivals. Their duties include serving tea and escorting critically ill patients to the requisite areas.
A hospital spokesperson told news website The Paper that the “stewardess-style nurses” were having a good impact but the Beijing Morning Post demurred, commenting instead that it was a silly gimmick. A nursing lecturer from Nanchang University School of Medicine also warned that the uniforms led to patients being “full of passion” and so were “not suitable for a hospital atmosphere”.
Whether this is an idea that’s about to ‘take-off’ is hard to predict but Xinhua reports that Huai’an city’s Lianshui Hospital has 12 nurses similarly attired. Nor is this the first time female uniforms have caused controversy.
When the (now jailed) Bo Xilai ran Dalian he created a special mounted division of pretty policewomen who patrolled the city on horses. Critics have since described the unit as decorative, with the Apple Daily pointing out that the policewomen had apprehended just one criminal in two decades of service (see WiC196).
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