Senior executives and a team of medical staff from a Chinese hospital in the northwestern province of Shaanxi have been punished for taking group photos next to apparently unconscious patients after surgery , state media reported on Monday . A series of photos recently circulated on Sina Weibo , a Chinese microblogging site , shows Chinese doctors and nurses decked in scrubs , posing with reportedly unconscious patients on the operating table in the operating theater . A man makes a V-sign in one of the happy snaps , while other doctors are seen leaning over the patient mid-procedure . The Xi'an Bureau of Public Health has taken action for the photos taken in August this year , removing three top executives from administrative duties at the privately-run Fengcheng Hospital , reported Xinhua News Agency . The other staff pictured in the photos have been reprimanded and docked three months ' pay . The hospital issued a public statement and apology , explaining that the photos were taken to commemorate the last day that the operating theater was in use , before it closed down in favor of new facilities . `` Our staff members have neglected the possible negative consequences of their actions , we will undergo an in depth review of the incident , '' the statement reads . The photos have triggered a backlash on China 's microblogging platforms . Bloggers have taken to social media to express their opinions using the hashtag `` surgery selfie '' , with many condemning the doctors ' lack of professional ethics . `` They are not acting professionally at all . They are treating the patients ' suffering as a joke , how can they even take a selfie at a time like this ? '' one Weibo user , Penny Zhutou , commented on a discussion thread . Others expressed sympathy for the doctors . `` Doctors are humans too . I do n't think there is anything wrong with them wanting to take a photo to celebrate after a long and successful surgery . We should look at this rationally , instead of being limited by those so-called restrictions , '' another Weibo user , `` Diaolinghoucanque '' commented .
Chinese doctors have been punished for taking pictures with unconscious patients . Comment: The local health bureau has reprimanded medical staff and imposed fines .