Beijing, May 14 - A woman at a Chinese hospital assaulted a nurse after suspecting that an operation she had undergone 16 years ago there affected her sex life.

The incident occurred in China's Jiangsu province, adding to the long list of attacks on medical workers in the country, China Daily reported.

"The hospital explained that the woman had had a caesarean at this hospital 16 years ago. The woman claimed that the operation had affected her sex life," Nanjing's Modern Express daily report said citing hospital representatives.

But the hospital's medical appraisal or examination said the operation had no side effects on her, it added.

According to the daily, the woman patient tried to stab Nanjing Zhongda Hospital nurse Chen Ling in the chest. Though Chen managed to grab hold of the 15-cm knife, she suffered several cuts to her left hand and a scratch on her abdomen.

Around 9 a.m., the woman who, according to reports, in her 50s, entered the emergency room, saying that she was looking for a doctor in the mental health department. Chen recognised the woman as someone she had seen earlier searching for the same doctor.

Chen offered to take her to the outpatient service. But the woman suddenly took a knife from her bag and attacked the nurse. Several doctors subdued the woman and finally handed her to police.

Chen said she had no idea why the woman tried to stab her because neither she knew the woman nor had the woman been treated in the emergency room.