CHAPTER 350: 350 PULL OUT A BIG MELON

Liu Banxia knew this matter would cause a stir; after all, it was a medical accident. Even if the primary responsibility didn’t lie with the hospital, the nurses also had a duty of care and would still bear some of the blame.

In his view, the normal procedure would be to first communicate with the patient, have all three parties sit down together, and settle the compensation. The goal was to minimize the incident’s impact; this was standard operating procedure.

However, the situation developed in a way that far exceeded his imagination, causing ripples throughout the Second Hospital and even Binhai City.

The first surprise was the patient’s dissatisfaction with the 100,000-yuan compensation; he demanded 300,000 yuan. His reasoning was simple: he had almost died.

Even if current medical examinations showed no problems, issues could arise in the future.

Therefore, in addition to the compensation, he demanded a supplementary agreement with the Second Hospital ensuring "after-sales service." If any future issues arose, the Second Hospital would have to take responsibility and provide free treatment.

Matters that money could resolve weren’t typically considered major problems these days. The compensation would primarily come from the supplier company, and the Second Hospital would hold that company liable, ensuring they wouldn’t suffer a loss.

However, including "after-sales service" complicated things, as defining the scope of responsibility would be difficult. Negotiations reached an impasse, and the patient chose to escalate the matter, which then made the news.

The second surprise came during the Second Hospital’s internal audit, which uncovered numerous problems with medical device procurement. The person ultimately implicated was Vice Director Wang Guobin.

It was a case of not knowing what you didn’t know; the investigation yielded shocking results.

Over the years, Wang Guobin hadn’t been shy about accepting kickbacks. It was rumored that the amount involved already exceeded twenty million yuan. This was just an initial estimate; one could only imagine the final figure after a full investigation.

With things escalating like this, how could it still be considered a minor issue? All these problems, triggered by a single, small IV tube—it was a story so outlandish few would believe it.

And so, Liu Banxia once again became a prominent figure at the Second Hospital. After all, he was the one who had uncovered this whole affair, setting off the chain of subsequent events.

"Chao, this whole business is causing me so much grief," Liu Banxia said, frustrated. "It’s like I’ve become some anti-corruption champion. What does any of this really have to do with me?"

"Heh heh, what does it matter if it has anything to do with you?" Wang Chao said with a laugh. "I think it’s actually a good thing. At the very least, things will be more stable for us at the Second Hospital now, with fewer people trying to micromanage."

"Is there some inside scoop?" Liu Banxia asked, astonished.

"It’s not really an inside scoop," Wang Chao said. "It’s just that you don’t usually pay attention to these things, so you wouldn’t have noticed."

"Vice Director Wang wasn’t exactly low-key when he was in office, but the Chief Director didn’t have many options back then. The disagreements were particularly sharp during the establishment of the emergency center."

"Don’t you remember? Last time, when there was that issue with the substandard IV tubes, it caused quite a stir. The excuse given was that the emergency center was spending too much money, so procurement costs had to be reduced. That left the Chief Director speechless."

"This time, the Chief Director probably just intended to give him a warning. Who would’ve thought he couldn’t withstand a proper investigation? How audacious must he have been? So many people are implicated."

"I reckon once this whole thing is over, it might even make the national news. There’s an entire network operating behind the scenes. Many suppliers to our hospital and others are part of it; they just use different company names."

"For them, it doesn’t matter who wins the bid; they’re the ones who profit. They just switch the labels and packaging. The products inside are still the same."

"A lot of people will be purged this time; almost everyone connected will be taken down. It’s a medical accident combined with corruption—the crackdown will definitely be severe."

Listening to Wang Chao, Liu Banxia shook his head helplessly. He had really oversimplified things. All he could say was that Wang Guobin was unlucky. If he’d just taken smaller kickbacks, it would have been fine. But his appetite was too large, and he got involved in so much.

Procurement was a major area of business for the hospital, including project bidding and the like. There was a lot of room for illicit dealings.

Could Wang Guobin be the only one involved? This was just one link in a chain. If Wang Guobin was pulled out, who knew how many others would be dragged out with him?

"President Liu, don’t overthink it," Wang Chao said with a laugh. "This was just a fluke, and you happened to stumble into it."

"Normally, no doctor would go to such lengths for a nurse. If you hadn’t been so meticulous, you probably wouldn’t have discovered the problem with the IV tubes either."

"My only thought at the time was that I was afraid the emergency center would be ruined," Liu Banxia said helplessly. "I really didn’t think about anything else."

"So many people are watching the emergency center. If we make a mistake that’s normally worth one point of criticism, they’ll magnify it to three or five points. Things should be easier in the future, though. I guess the medical affairs department won’t be scrutinizing us so intensely anymore."

"You know what? At first, I even thought Old Qin would be implicated. After all, he was responsible for dealing with the aftermath of that first batch of IV tubes. But it turns out he really wasn’t involved."

Wang Chao gave him a knowing smile but said nothing.

"Damn it, is there something else I don’t know?" Liu Banxia asked, surprised.

"Well, you can’t say he’s completely uninvolved," Wang Chao said with a smile. "He did leak some relevant information. You could say he provided those people with a convenience. After all, they have to prepare the tender documents themselves—how would they control the pricing otherwise?"

"This is really something else," Liu Banxia shook his head. "I’ve realized I’m just not cut out for business. I’ll stick to seeing patients and performing surgeries. I wouldn’t dare think about these other things."

"Old Qin had no choice," Wang Chao said. "He lost a lot of money in that metronidazole incident, even had to mortgage his house. What else could he do? His offense is different from this current situation, though. The Dazheng Group is also investigating him."

"So, this is just the beginning. The city authorities are paying close attention. They don’t just want to clean up the medical environment; they also want to regulate these medical equipment manufacturers and address the conflicts in doctor-patient relationships."

"They’ve had this plan for a while. Now that our hospital has exposed such a major scandal, they’re bound to investigate even more seriously. It’s quite interesting, though; everything seems to involve you somehow."

Liu Banxia shot him a helpless glance.

"Heh heh, the metronidazole patient, the ’flying scalpel’ investigation, and now this IV tube incident—which one didn’t involve you?" Wang Chao asked with a grin.

"Nonsense! I’ll admit to the ’flying scalpel’ thing, but not the others," Liu Banxia said. "I’m very well-behaved now, just focused on my work in the emergency center."

"Look how well the interns I’ve mentored are doing. They can all stand on their own now. Their growth rate is definitely much faster than when we were residents-in-training."

"Want me to drop another bit of gossip?" Wang Chao added.

"What? Don’t tell me it’s about me again?" Liu Banxia felt his mind reel.

"With Wang Guobin under investigation, a Vice Director position has opened up," Wang Chao said. "The hospital has nominated our Director Zhou. Although it’s a bit unconventional this time, our emergency center has gained significant importance in the hospital over these past few months."

"Even though Director Zhou is still young, he fits the current trend of promoting younger cadres. Plus, he’s highly skilled medically and has managed general surgery for a long time."

"However, the competition is fierce. They might also transfer someone in from elsewhere. No final decision has been made yet, mainly because this whole thing blew up so suddenly."

Liu Banxia shook his head. His brain really couldn’t keep up. So many twists and turns... This was still a hospital, wasn’t it? The primary mission should be treating the sick and saving lives. Scheming and infighting should only happen when people had too much free time.

In the past, he was just a naive fool, struggling at the very bottom of the Second Hospital. And now? He was, at least, a member of the lower-to-middle management. Naturally, he was exposed to more things and had the chance to hear some of the juicy details.

He wondered if Zhou Shuwen would actually be promoted to Vice Director. Considering the weight the emergency center now carried in the hospital, it was certainly a significant factor.

An emergency center of this scale really should be managed by a vice director. After all, it was being prepared for evaluation and rating in the future; it wasn’t just a slightly larger emergency department.

"Alright everyone, listen up," Liu Banxia clapped his hands. "It’s fine to chat about these hospital matters during meal breaks, but not during work hours."

"Whether you’re a doctor or a nurse, we all need to be more vigilant while on duty. If you notice anything amiss, report it immediately."

"Everyone’s professional skills are excellent, but sometimes, these issues have nothing to do with our abilities. What we can do is be even more diligent and responsible. And... this month’s bonuses won’t be affected."

That last sentence was a great comfort. Everyone had been worried that this medical incident would affect their income. After all, if blame was to be assigned, they would undoubtedly share some responsibility.

They all worked hard every month for their paychecks. The base salary was minimal; they relied on bonuses to make ends meet. Liu Banxia’s words were the reassurance they needed, allowing them to put aside their worries and work with peace of mind.

Moreover, this incident further solidified everyone’s respect for Liu Banxia.

Just as Wang Chao had said, it was rare for someone like Liu Banxia to go to such lengths for an intern nurse. His motivations at the time didn’t matter; the outcome spoke for itself.

It was because of his intervention that Zhou Qian was cleared. Otherwise, she would have had no future in this profession. All the hardship she had endured would have been for nothing.

So, even though Liu Banxia was currently just a chief resident—a position that seemed to involve managing everything yet having authority over nothing specific—his words carried considerable weight in the emergency center.