Bribe-giving in hospitals has prompted the central government to extend its ethics education and tighten up hospital administration this year.

The practice of demanding bribes and commissions for medical service and the overcharging of patients has become a major concern in the country.

Public Health Minister Chen Minzhang told a press conference in Beijing on Monday afternoon that the ministry is to launch a nationwide ethics education programme for hospital personnel this summer.

In recent years, it has become an increasingly frequent practice for patients to give some money in a “hongbao”,or a red envelope, to doctors and nurses in hope of getting better medical treatment and service.

Some doctors even ask patients’ relatives for gifts or bribes.

Some hospitals overcharge patients by doing unnecessary examinations and giving extra medicine.

Some big hospitals tend to ask for commissions from small or privately-owned hospitals and clinics when introducing patients to them.

“All this conduct has severely damaged the reputation of the medical profession, and must be firmly banned,” the minister said.

Chen stressed the “red envelopes” phenomenon has become one of the main topics on the street and has bothered health administration officails in the past years.

Last summer, the ministry released a circular asking medical personnel to stop accepting “red envelope” from patients and to improve the quality of medical service. Achievements have been realized since then.

Last year, the public health administration departments in the three municipalities—Beijing, Tianjin and Shanghai punished some 300 medical workers for taking “red envelope” and for substandard service.