China steps up efforts to protect safety of medical workers

China will step up efforts to protect the safety of medical workers by listing violent incidents against medical staff as "major sensitive cases," the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) said Friday.

"To this regard, procuratorate organs must issue a quick response immediately when cases of offences targeting medical workers occur," according to a statement released by the SPP at a press conference.

Once the new system is launched, procuratorate organs at various levels must take coordinated measures and respond to such cases in a timely manner under the instruction of the SPP, it said.

They must also start investigations in accordance with the law and support the crackdown on relevant crimes, according to the document.

Violent incidents targeting medical workers remain a huge concern in China, with cases frequently hitting the headlines.

In a case in July, a man wielding a knife killed a nurse and injured four people at a hospital in southern China's Guangdong Province. Endi