The 10-year-old son of a hospital staff member was stabbed by a disgruntled patient in Hunan province, police said on Tuesday, in the latest incident involving tense relations between patients and medical professionals.

The suspect, a 54-year-old man, had sought treatment at Yuejiaqiao Health Center in Yiyang, Hunan province, for emphysema.

He had an ongoing dispute with the hospital over being transferred to another hospital and over medical bills, and he had been to the hospital a number of times to negotiate since May, according to a statement released by the Hunan police on Tuesday.

The man, who was only identified by his surname, He, disrupted hospital work during the negotiating process. A staff member surnamed Kong stopped him, the statement said.

He followed Kong's 10-year-old son to a city bus and stabbed him several times with a knife on Monday morning, according to the statement.

The boy was sent to a hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening, the statement said. The alleged attacker, He, has been detained.

Monday's case was one of a spate of violent incidents against doctors in recent months.

On May 18, a doctor named Wang Jun in Shaodong county, Hunan province, was beaten to death during a quarrel with family members over the treatment of five people who were injured in a traffic accident. Three suspects were arrested two days later, the report said.

In May, the National Health and Family Planning Commission said it has "zero tolerance" toward violence against medical personnel and urged local authorities to severely punish anyone guilty of it.

Nearly 70 percent of doctors in China don't want their children to follow in their career footsteps, due to heavy workloads, high expectations from patients and increasing medical disputes that can result in doctors being injured, according to a report released by the Chinese Medical Doctor Association.

According to an earlier report by the association, an average of 27 cases of verbal or physical violence against doctors occur at each Chinese hospital every year.

Gong Xiaoming, a gynecologist who formerly worked at Peking Union Medical College Hospital, said a security system that protects the interests of both patients and doctors in cases of disputes should be improved in China to reduce such violence.

In particular, the system should ensure that patients get compensation through insurance for medical malpractice, he said.

Patients who are compensated fairly may be less inclined to commit violent acts, he said.

At the same time, doctors should also learn to communicate better with patients and continue improving their service, he said.

(China Daily 06/16/2016 page5)