BEIJING - The Ministry of Health has ordered health authorities to facilitate installing police stations in hospitals above county level, following several violent attacks against doctors.

The ministry on Friday issued a notice asking health authorities at all levels to cooperate with police in carrying out the work and cracking down on crimes against either health staff or patients.

According to the notice, it has been demanded that health authorities?strengthen security in hospitals and ensure conflict-prone areas such as emergency departments be patrolled and put under security watch around the clock.

The ministry also called for more education on professional ethics and communication skills for hospital staff, and more streamlined medical service procedures.

Doctor-patient relationships have become a major public concern in China following frequent reports of quarrels and even physical attacks.

The latest case came in April this year at the Peking University People's Hospital, when doctor Xing Zhimin with the Otolaryngological Department was stabbed by a masked man.

The attack was reportedly triggered by a medical dispute in which a patient alleged that the doctor failed to treat him correctly.

In March, a medical intern in Harbin, Northeast China's Heilongjiang province, was killed by a 17-year-old patient, who also injured several other doctors in the attack.