Shanghai's health authorities ordered a private hospital to stop distributing a card yesterday, which promised to pay cabdrivers up to 300 yuan (US$37) for each emergency patient they drove to the hospital.

The Xijiao bone disease hospital started to distribute the card among Shanghai's taxi drivers December 26, which promised 50 yuan in reward for each outpatient and 300 yuan for each inpatient they took to the hospital.

Gu Mingjun, head of the hospital, said the move was to encourage the the traditional Chinese virtue of extending a helping hand during an emergency. But some suspect the cash reward was a bait for bringing more clients.

A previous survey found that many cab drivers were unwilling to take emergency patients to hospitals, out of a fear that the patients' families would hold them liable for the accidents, the Oriental Morning Post said.

The hospital received three outpatients brought by cabdrivers since the practice was started. A driver who had brought a patient said he did it just to help. "We had many clients waiting during the New Year holidays and many drivers were unwilling to carry patients who cannot move themselves," he said.

The health authorities said Shanghai has an efficient first-aid network. The private hospital, which specialized in bone diseases, might not have been the best choice for patients with serious organ damage, and even cost them their lives if precious time was wasted, the health bureau said.

(Shenzhen Daily January 5, 2006)