Patient in Cardiac Arrest Denied by 7 Hospitals... Declared Dead After Wandering Emergency Rooms

Notification of Non-Acceptance Due to ICU and Medical Staff Absence
Government's Final Ultimatum: "Return to Workplace by the 29th"

An octogenarian cardiac arrest patient in Daejeon experienced a delay in emergency room transfer and was declared dead after about 50 minutes.

According to Yonhap News on the 26th, around noon on the 23rd, Mr. A (in his 80s), who was experiencing consciousness impairment, was loaded into an ambulance in cardiac arrest, but while confirming an available emergency room by phone, he fell into cardiac arrest.

Mr. A arrived at a university hospital (tertiary medical institution) in Daejeon after 53 minutes and was declared dead. It was reported that he was refused admission by seven hospitals due to reasons such as no available beds, absence of specialists and medical staff, and inability to treat critically ill patients.

Around an emergency treatment center in Seoul. The photo is not related to the specific content of the article. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

According to the Daejeon Fire Headquarters, from the 20th until 6 a.m. on this day, there were a total of 23 cases of delayed ambulance transfers due to the mass resignation of resident doctors. During the weekend, 18 cases of delayed emergency room transfers occurred in Daejeon.

On the morning of the 23rd, around 10 a.m., a man in his 50s was loaded into an ambulance with decreased consciousness and paralysis symptoms but was rejected by six hospitals due to the absence of intensive care units and medical staff, and was transferred to a university hospital after 53 minutes. Earlier that day, around 1 a.m., a man in his 40s experienced seizures and called 119, but was refused admission by eight hospitals due to reasons including medical staff strikes. He was transferred to a university hospital after 37 minutes.

Currently, in Chungnam Province, 219 out of 300 resident doctors (73%) at nine training hospitals have submitted resignation letters. Among them, 224 (74%) have left their workplaces.

In Daejeon, 81.6% (413 out of 506) of resident doctors at five major university and general hospitals have submitted resignation letters. These five hospitals employ 96% of all resident doctors (527) in the city. It is known that most resident doctors who resigned from regional general hospitals have not returned.

The government has requested resident doctors who have left their workplaces to return to the field by the 29th. The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (CDSCH) for the doctors' collective action stated on the 26th, "We have requested resident doctors who left their workplaces to return by the 29th," and "The government plans to show maximum leniency regarding violations of current laws for resident doctors who return to their workplaces by the deadline."

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