A video has emerged from China that shows a woman smashing up a robot "receptionist" with a large wooden stick. The clip was captured by one of the visitors inside the hospital and shows the woman shouting abuses at the machine. She is also seen repeatedly hitting the robot with the thick piece of wood, which caused pieces of the machine to scatter all over the floor. The video, first shared on China's version of TikTok Douyin, has been released by Viral Press.

The incident took place at Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University in the city of Xuzhou, in China's north-eastern coastal province of Jiangsu on April 23.

The staff members of the hospital are seen moving away from the reception desk as the woman, wearing a yellow coat, let loose on the machine that is used to check in patients in the lobby.

The video was also shared on Twitter earlier this week with the caption, "Because now in China's hospitals, make the doctor and all medical examination appointments are all done on the robots, very few nurses left to help the patients."

Locals who spoke to Viral Press claimed the woman might have been a frustrated patient who was taking out her anger on the automated robot.

A member of the security department at the hospital said that the woman, who has not been named, claimed she may be suffering from mental illness, according to local media.

The hospital security department reportedly said that the police were called in following the incident. It is currently unclear if the woman was detained.