"87-Year-Old 'COVID-19 Patient' Dies After 14 Hours in Ambulance Due to No Hospital Beds"

Son: "Complacent Administrative System Caused Father's Death"

At Seoul Metropolitan Seobu Hospital in Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul, 119 paramedics wearing protective suits are transferring a patient from an ambulance. The photo is not related to any specific part of the article. Photo by Yonhap News.

[Asia Economy Reporter Na Ye-eun] An elderly severe COVID-19 patient was unable to find a negative pressure hospital bed and was transferred around in an ambulance for 14 hours, ultimately dying at home.

According to Yonhap News, Mr. A, 87 years old this year, suddenly showed symptoms of respiratory distress on the 15th and was urgently transported to a hospital in Gyeongbuk at 6 p.m. Judging that the patient's condition was serious, the hospital sent him to a hospital in Daegu. During this time, the patient underwent a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test inside the ambulance.

Mr. A's son, Mr. B, explained the situation, saying, "The test results came out at 1 a.m. on the 16th, the next day when my father was still in the ambulance," and "When COVID-19 positivity was confirmed, the family became even more anxious."

However, the hospital's negative pressure ward for severe COVID-19 patients was already full, and the family waited for 30 minutes with the ambulance parked in front of the hospital but could not admit the father.

After searching for a hospital bed, Mr. B found out that there was a remaining negative pressure bed at a hospital located in Incheon and tried to bring his father there as quickly as possible, but it was not possible. Since it was early morning, the local health center had not yet processed the paperwork to assign a confirmed patient registration number, making admission to a negative pressure ward in another region impossible.

Mr. B said, "My father's paperwork had to be transferred to the Incheon health center outside the quarantine area for admission to the negative pressure ward, but since it was early morning, the paperwork was not processed," adding, "We tried to get a 'transfer confirmation' to move him, but since my father was not admitted, we could only get a doctor's note. However, the hospital said admission to the negative pressure ward was difficult with just the note, and I felt like the sky was falling."

In the end, Mr. A had no choice but to stay in the ambulance parked in front of the hospital, receiving only oxygen supply. When the ambulance's fuel began to run low, the Daegu hospital promised to contact them immediately if a bed became available, and around 8 a.m., they returned home with the family.

Later, while waiting for a hospital bed at home, Mr. A passed away around 11 a.m. Mr. B said, "When my father arrived home, he weakly said he was hungry, so I prepared a meal in the kitchen, but when I came back to the room, he had passed away," expressing his grief, "As a son, I feel infinitely guilty and heartbroken."

He added, "The family still believes that my father could have survived," and raised his voice, saying, "The government's complacent administrative system ultimately caused my father to suffer until the end and pass away."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.