Nanjing hospital prepares pepper water for doctors’ self-defense  

南京一医院在诊室自备辣椒水 遇攻击医护人员可防身

(ECNS) -- Consulting rooms at a hospital in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, are equipped with bottles of pepper water as a self-defense tool for its doctors, Jinling Evening News reported on Tuesday.

Doctors at the unnamed hospital said there was a medical disturbance caused by a patient's relatives, who brought a gang of people and burst into the hospital.

Although the case was settled by local police, doctors at the hospital were terrified and decided to take measures to protect themselves.

To help provide a safe work environment for its medical staff, the hospital placed bottles of pepper water in its out-patient rooms.

Not all of the hospital's consulting rooms are equipped with the pepper water, said a nurse at the hospital.

The hospital fears doctors might use the pepper water on patients, so it warns that staff that only as a last resort should they use the water.

A local lawyer said it was a legitimate way for the hospital to protect its doctors.