Surgery Godfather

Chapter 89: Chapter 0087: Great Matter

Everyone, hurry up and change. Head back to the demonstration room of your department.

The demonstration room is full of people. Usually, doctors and nurses have separate meetings, but now everyone is gathered together, and the room is not big enough.

Regardless if you are sitting or standing, as long as you are in the room, it doesn’t matter.

Everyone is in a noisy uproar, guessing why they were suddenly summoned together.

But after guessing for a while, no one could figure out the reason. Some wanted to ask Zhang Lin, but he was busy maintaining order at the meeting.

Seeing that most of the people had arrived, Director Han went up to the podium: “Is everyone here?”

“Be quick, scan the QR code and sign in!” Zhang Lin shouted while standing.

On the electronic screen in front, a large QR code changes every second, making it impossible to capture and send to those who are lazy and didn’t come.

The screen continuously refreshed the names of those clocking in. Everyone who should have come, had come, unless they had to be on duty in the ward or if they couldn’t make it back from the night shift.

“Quiet, quiet. Sorry for taking up your time. Now please let Director Zhao from the medical affairs department say a few words.” Director Han was brief and got straight to the point.

Immediately, everyone quieted down.

Director Zhao walked onto the stage, waving his hand as a greeting to everyone. He stood firm, his hands on the podium, looked around the room, cleared his throat and said, “Today, we suddenly gathered everyone here to discuss an important issue, a serious issue!”

With a wave of his hand, Director Zhao directed a staff from the medical affairs office to project a medical record onto the electronic screen; it was the patient who had pulled out his catheter and fled without paying.

“Cui Erming, male, thirty-seven years old, suffered a chopping wound on the right wrist, causing right median nerve rupture—”

A long string of diagnoses.

“Are you all familiar with this patient? Doctor Guo and Dr. Lei should be. The patient fled after pulling out his catheter the morning after an emergency surgery, leaving behind his treatment fees. However, he’s recently come back into the picture. Did he come back to pay? No. Did he bring a banner to show his appreciation? No! Look at this document I have!”

Director Zhao shook the document in his hand: “This is an unreported draft, a draft by a certain reporter. What does it say? It accuses our hospital of forcefully removing Cui Erming’s catheter by a nurse and driving him away just because he couldn’t pay his medical expenses. It’s a good thing this hasn’t been published, or we would all be infamous. This would be even worse than the scandal in the Provincial People’s Hospital two years ago. Do you remember that incident?”

Director Zhao paused, allowing everyone to recall the incident.

Who can forget it? A patient, a colostomy patient, underwent regular treatment, but a news report claimed that the doctor had forgotten to transfer the intestines back into the abdomen after surgery, resulting in a hole.

At the time, the scandal was huge, and the Provincial People’s Hospital’s reputation was severely tarnished. The reporter became famous overnight, and the doctor involved was nearly driven mad. We were all sickened by the anger.

In the end, it was all false news!

Director Ouyang, Dr. Jin, President Guo, and Dr. Lei were all sitting together, with Director Ouyang and Dr. Jin looking very grim. President Guo and Dr. Lei were a bit on edge.

When it seemed that everyone had recalled the incident, Director Zhao continued: “Look, just look at this headline: Horrible! Patient can’t pay hospital fees, nurse forcibly removes urinary catheter! They are fabricating malicious rumors so shamelessly!”

The audience erupted in anger, boiling mad by the false accusations. The way this article was written was infuriating!

Almost everyone in the department knew the details of the incident. The patient had an emergency admission and didn’t pay even a single cent. President Guo and Xiao Lei performed the surgery, and the next morning, the patient pulled out his catheter and ran away, forcing President Guo and Xiao Lei to eat instant noodles for a month. Now, the story has been distorted that a nurse pulled out his catheter and drove him out of the hospital.

“Quiet, quiet!” Director Han immediately quelled the crowd.

Director Zhao continued: “Let me ask everyone, have any reporters interviewed you? No! Can news be fabricated by imagination, turning into fantasy novels?”

Director Zhao’s impressive oratory skills showed as he abruptly shifted gears: “Originally, the hospital wanted to keep this incident confidential and handle it down low. However, Dean Xia said that the more we keep it under wraps, the more likely problems will arise. We should inform everyone, establish a collective strategy, and fight against these unhealthy tendencies together. After saying so much, what is the implied meaning? First, don’t be afraid. The medical service department and the nursing department have conducted investigations at the time, the records are on file, and we have both eyewitnesses and material evidences, especially the doctors and nurses involved in the incident. You shouldn’t have any mental burdens. Xiao Lei, President Guo, please stand up.”

The Director of the Medical Affairs Department addressed him as President Guo, causing the crowd to burst into laughter.

President Guo and Xiao Lei stood up. Director Zhao said, “Hold your heads high, you haven’t done anything wrong, so there is nothing to fear.”

President Guo and Xiao Lei seemed much more relaxed, their eyes even looked more lively.

“Secondly, everyone should be alert about this matter. Any information about this patient should not be gossip freely, nor should it be spread randomly. If anyone notices any negative news about our hospital, especially online, it must be reported to the PR department promptly. If friends and family ask about this event, it’s everyone’s responsibility to clarify and resist ill-intended rumors. Third, Dean Xia wanted me to pass on a message, that as long as he, Xia Changjiang, no, Dean Xia, as long as Dean Xia is still standing, he will not let any innocent medical staff get injured if anything like the incident at the Provincial People’s Hospital two years ago happens. Fourth, our hospital will fight against things like these to the very end, without fear of the effort and consumption involved. That’s what our legal affairs department is for!”

Director Zhao always had plenty to say, once he started, he couldn’t stop.

The last few sentences brought applause from everyone. Dean Xia was truly a man of great courage.

Truth be told, even though the draft wasn’t sent out, there was no guarantee it wouldn’t be published outside of G City, or on the internet.

Such fake news can put enormous pressure on the physicians involved, not to mention being subjected to relentless scrutiny. Some hospitals, under pressure, might rush to penalize the physicians first, without a comprehensive investigation.

The pressure President Guo and Dr. Lei were under can only be imagined, but hearing Director Zhao’s reassuring words, they began to relax, and smiles finally appeared on their faces.

There was a certain reporter, and everyone knew who it was.

The room began to buzz with conversation.

“How could they make this public when the draft hasn’t been published yet? Isn’t that just creating trouble?” Director Bai whispered.

Fatty echoed, “Yeah, the draft wasn’t sent, so this matter should have just been dropped. Going public with it will only make it worse.”

It wasn’t just Director Bai and Fatty who were confused, everyone was.

Director Ouyang said, “It’s not that simple. When has Dean Xia ever been thoughtless?”

Dr. Jin said, “Yeah, it must have been ordered by Dean Xia, or else how would Old Zhao dare to go public with it?”

This was a bit unconventional. If it was any other hospital, they would surely handle it quietly. Even though the situation was suppressed, it was still being brought up for discussion.

Tan Boyun and Tian Yuan sat together.

Tan Boyun said, “Dean Xia really is Dean Xia. How did this draft get to the hospital before it was even published?”

Tian Yuan said, “Dean Xia has extensive connections. Even though it was suppressed here in G City, there’s no guarantee it won’t be posted on another platform or online. It’s not the thief who steals that you should be afraid of, but the thief who keeps you in mind.”

Tan Boyun said, “Dean Xia is making it clear to the thief: Don’t mess with me, or I’ll resist to death, I knew you walked around the roof of my house long ago.”

“Bullies always pick on the weak. People like this are just trying to gain fame. They would definitely weigh the pros and cons before taking action, upon encountering a tough nut like Dean Xia, they might change targets,” Tian Yuan said.

As expected, the hospital took an unconventional path, even holding a hospital-wide meeting the next day. The content was similar to the one in the Orthopedics Department; only the speaker was replaced by Dean Xia.

Dean Xia was very impassioned, his voice loud and his gestures vivid. He concluded with a slam of his palm on the podium, “To resist this kind of harmful tendency, I, Xia Changjiang, am willing to stake all my bones. Sanbo isn’t afraid of a ghost!”

He was possibly in his fifties, not old, he was even very energetic while playing basketball. He bumped into many others, still aiming for a basket. If not for giving face, he would have almost been penalized by the referee.

The next day, many websites and media outlets posted the hospital’s official statement. It began with a detailed introduction to the incident of Cui Erming, followed by a brief introduction to the rumors, a severe condemnation of those creating malicious rumors, and stated that the hospital had notified the police about this matter and wouldn’t support harmful tendencies, while aiming to restore the society’s tranquil atmosphere.

Right after, G City TV Station also interviewed Cui Erming. Cui Erming seemed terrified and his speech was a little incoherent. He claimed he had absolutely no knowledge of any interview, and knew nothing about these rumors.

As things became apparent, this high-level maneuver dazzled everyone.

People finally understand that if this article had been published, regardless of where, it seemingly would’ve lost its value, and could only serve to harm itself further.

Dean Xia truly is Dean Xia.

Everyone was grateful to have such a great dean.