Changwon Hospital Transfer Refusal Death Incident
A tragic incident occurred where a woman in her 60s, suffering from respiratory distress, died after being refused transfer by five different general hospitals.
On the 8th, Kyunghyang Shinmun reported that Ms. A, who had been hospitalized for a leg fracture at a hospital in Jinhae-gu, developed respiratory distress symptoms while receiving internal medicine consultations alongside a high fever, requiring her to wear an oxygen mask.
According to the report, Ms. A exhibited respiratory distress on the fifth day of hospitalization, April 25, and her oxygen saturation levels dropped sharply from the morning of the 26th, necessitating the use of an oxygen mask.
The hospital medical staff judged Ms. A's condition to be critical and requested emergency transfer to five general hospitals in the Changwon area. However, all the higher-level hospitals refused the transfer. At the time, the hospitals reportedly cited reasons such as "there are no available beds in the emergency room" for their refusal to accommodate the patient.
Refusal of Transfer by All Higher-Level Hospitals
Desperate, Ms. A's family called 119 to request a transfer even on the night of April 27, the day before her death, but they did not receive adequate assistance.
Ultimately, Ms. A passed away at approximately 1:35 AM on April 28, the eighth day of her hospitalization, at the original hospital. The hospital diagnosed the cause of her death as "sepsis."
After the funeral, the bereaved family filed a report with the Changwon Health Center on May 1, requesting an investigation into the circumstances. According to the investigation by the Changwon Health Center, the higher-level hospitals that refused the transfer explained that they "did not have a pulmonologist available."
However, the Changwon Health Center stated that it did not have the authority to regulate transfer refusals between hospitals and was unable to take special action. They issued a warning to only one higher-level hospital where the reasons for transfer refusal were unclear.
Ms. A's bereaved family urged, "Due to the aftermath of the medical strike situation, patients are still experiencing transfer refusals and emergency room run-arounds. The government, politicians, and doctors must recognize the seriousness of the current situation and actively work to save people's lives."
This incident has once again highlighted the issue of medical accessibility and the shortcomings of the emergency medical system, particularly pointing to the urgent need for improvements in the response system for critically ill patients in regional medical institutions.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare is currently preparing measures to improve the emergency medical system; however, unfortunate cases of missing the 'golden time' continue to occur in the field, necessitating the establishment of effective measures.
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