Patient secretly leaves hongbao for medical staff

Dou Zhen, a nurse at the Qingdao Women and Children Hospital, showed the blessing red envelope from a warmhearted patient on Feb 7. [Photo provided to China Daily]

The relationship between patients and staff members at China's hospitals has been the subject of frequent headlines and social media discussions in recent months. Conflicts between doctors, patients and their families when outcomes have been less than ideal have included fatal attacks on medical staff.

Nurse Dou Zhen, who found the package in the dispensary at the Qingdao Women and Children Hospital, traveled an entire night to return the 10 red envelopes containing 1,000 yuan in total to the generous benefactor.

It was 7:50 pm on Feb 7 when Dou discovered a small white package had been thrown through the dispensary's window. Opening it, she found the red envelopes.

Dou and her colleagues opened the envelopes and found each contained a 100 yuan note and a hand written greeting:

"Dear night shift doctors and nurses, I am a common patient. Now I have experienced how hard your work is and learned, in person, how much you sacrifice for us. I have just finished a two-hour-long drip, eager to get back to my family. But you have to stay here for a whole night on this most important festival occasion. Therefore, I decided to present 10 red envelopes to you to show my appreciation and respect."

The doctors and nurses at the scene were moved by the patient's generosity, but didn't want to keep the money.

"Her kindness occurred at a time when we are often misunderstood or sometimes even insulted, so we were all deeply touched and felt warm hearted," Dou said.

A check with the patient registry allowed Dou and her colleagues to identify their mysterious benefactor as Liu Wenjuan. They got in contact with her in Wuxi, Jiangsu province, but learned she wouldn't soon return. That's when Dou decided to travel to Wuxi, return the money and thank Liu in person.

The story of Liu's kindness has been reported by more than 50 media outlets across the country through various media channels, including radio, TV and newspapers. It also became an Internet sensation on social media.

According to Qingdao Morning, the story posted on micro-blogs, text messaging sites and major media websites had received more than 15 million views by Tuesday.

Zhu Kaihui, deputy editor-in-chief at Weihai Evening, said he appreciated the doctors and nurses and was touched by Liu's recognition of their care.

"Medical workers have big responsibilities and take high risks, but many of their salaries are not high in China. I hope patients and their family could show more sympathy and empathy to their work," he said.

As for Liu, who offered the red envelope, she said: "it is not a big deal to me as I merely want to thank them, they insisted on their principle of not taking the gift. So now I am going to donate the money to charity."

Liu Wenjuan left touching words on the red envelope. [Photo provided to China Daily]