Hospital Denies Ethics Breach After Patient Complains Over 1.9-Yuan Soft Drink

A Foshan hospital has denied that a pharmacy worker breached professional ethics after a patient complained that the employee accepted a 1.9-yuan (27 US cents) soft drink, saying the worker had actually refused the gift and has since reported what it described as false online claims to police.

Foshan Fosun Chancheng Hospital said yesterday that the worker, surnamed Liang, explicitly declined the drink when a patient took it from a bag and offered it during working hours in 2022. Liang was busy moving items and could not physically turn it away, the hospital said, adding that the worker never drank it.

The hospital valued the drink at about 2 yuan and described it as a well-intentioned gesture of thanks. Its investigation found that Liang had not solicited any property and that no request for favors or transfer of benefits was involved.

The hospital said Liang had reported the matter to police and that the outcome would depend on law enforcement’s investigation.

Its account differs from earlier reporting on a complaint involving a 1.9-yuan honey-flavored Jianlibao soft drink. The Paper reported that a patient offered the drink to a hospital pharmacy worker and later complained through Foshan’s 12345 public service hotline about improper gift-taking.

An earlier response from the local health bureau said the patient was a regular visitor and that the worker found it hard to refuse the unsolicited drink as a gesture of thanks. It said the hospital had sharply criticized the worker and repeatedly trained staff on China’s nine guidelines for integrity in medical institutions.

The hospital said it prohibits staff from accepting gifts that could compromise the impartial performance of their duties.

He Shengting, a lawyer with Guangdong Guoding’s Shenzhen office, told The Paper that the integrity guidelines do not set a minimum monetary threshold for gifts. He said, however, that a negligible gift involving no request for special treatment or exchange of benefits should not result in harsh punishment.