A doctor from the emergency department at a hospital in Ho Chi Minh City was strangled by the father of a young patient who insisted that his daughter receive treatment right away this week.

Dr. Dinh Huu Hao, deputy director of Gia Dinh People’s Hospital in Binh Thanh District, confirmed to Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on Thursday that the incident took place at the infirmary on ednesday evening.

The hospital is handling the case in accordance with protocols, while police officers are investigating the incident, Hao continued.

“The doctor is now in stable condition following the attack and he has been allowed to take a few days off," he said.

At around 9:00 pm on Wednesday, a 10-year-old girl with a fish bone stuck in her throat was taken to the emergency department of Gia Dinh People’s Hospital.

Doctors conducted necessary examinations and concluded that the girl’s vital signs were normal, while she was only experiencing pain when swallowing and did not show signs of difficulty breathing.

A doctor named T. told the girl to wait for about 10 minutes for an ear-nose-throat doctor to perform an endoscopy to remove the fish bone.

Meanwhile, Dr. T. had to check up on other patients who needed emergency treatment at the department.

About five minutes later, T. was reviewing the CT scan and X-ray results of some patients when a man, who claimed to be the father of the 10-year-old girl, barged into the room and started yelling.

T. explained the situation to the patient’s father, but the latter insisted that his daughter receive treatment right away.

The doctor tried to convince him once again, stating that the girl was in a stable condition and did not suffer difficulty breathing or respiratory failure.

However, the father suddenly pushed T. against the wall and strangled him, despite the intervention of other doctors and nurses.

He only stopped when security guards arrived at the scene.

The incident was then reported to the police unit in Ward 7, Binh Thanh District.

An official from the Ministry of Health said on Thursday that the attack was a serious violation of the practitioner's rights, causing physical and mental harm to the doctor.

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