A psychiatrist reportedly transferred 64 patients from one hospital to another without the knowledge of his employer, according to health authorities in Guizhou province.

The patients, originally being treated at Guihang Guiyang Hospital - which is affiliated with the State-owned Aviation Industry Corporation of China - in the provincial capital of Guiyang, were transferred to Guiyang Sixth People's Hospital, according to a statement by the Guiyang Health and Family Planning Commission on Sunday.

Four patients had returned to Guihang Guiyang Hospital as of Sunday morning, while the other 60 patients are receiving treatment at Guiyang Sixth People's Hospital and are in stable condition, the commission said.

A team of experts from Guizhou Provincial Center for Mental Health has been dispatched to the two hospitals to provide medical assistance to the patients, it said, adding that the two hospitals will contact the patients' guardians to help decide which hospital the patients want to be treated at.

The Guizhou Provincial Health and Family Planning Commission and Guiyang Health and Family Planning Commission have formed a joint investigation team to look into the issue, the statement said.

All 65 patients in Guihang Guiyang Hospital's psychiatry department, except a 103-year-old patient with dementia, were discharged from the hospital on Jan 30 by department director Yang Shaolei, without the knowledge of the hospital, it said in a statement on Saturday.

The hospital failed in its attempts to contact Yang before reporting the incident to the police, it said.

Meanwhile, four doctors and seven nurses quit their jobs without going through necessary procedures, the statement said, adding that Yang did not submit an application for resignation before the incident.

The hospital will respect the choice of the patients' families and provide assistance if they decide to leave the hospital, it added.

The hospital said it condemns the actions of medical staff leaving their posts without considering patients' safety, and suspects hospital rivalry is involved, adding that it will use legal procedures to hold Yang and other medial staff accountable.

A staff member at Guiyang Sixth People's Hospital told Beijing News that Yang had agreed to work at the hospital, but that he had not completed the recruitment process.

Yang told Beijing Youth Daily on Saturday that he sent a resignation letter to a head nurse at Guihang Guiyang Hospital on Jan 29, requesting that she deliver it to the hospital's human resources department. He added that he discharged the patients with the consent of their families, and after completing necessary procedures, such as issuing certificates and a doctor's notice to the patients.

Guiyang's publicity department confirmed to China Daily on Sunday that Yang had discharged the patients with the consent of their families, adding that they were well treated, without revealing further details.