"No Doctor," "Can't Perform Surgery"... 70-Year-Old with Utility Pole in Body Wanders Hospitals and Eventually Dies

A man in his 70s electrocuted by utility pole in Chungju, Chungbuk, dies
Three hospitals refused transfer requests... No contact from higher-level hospital

It was revealed belatedly that a man in his 70s who was trapped under a utility pole in Chungju, Chungbuk, died after being refused transfer by three hospitals.

On the 3rd, the fire authorities announced that at around 5:11 p.m. on the 22nd of last month, a resident reported that Mr. A was trapped under a utility pole in Suanbo-myeon, Chungju. A tractor driven by another resident collided with the utility pole, and the impact caused the pole to fall, trapping Mr. A.

Mr. A had severely injured his ankle and required surgery, but Konkuk University Chungju Hospital refused the transfer request, stating that "there is no anesthesiologist," and Chungju Medical Center, a public hospital, also refused transfer, saying "surgery is not possible." Eventually, Mr. A was moved to a hospital in the city at around 6:14 p.m. and was able to undergo surgery, during which internal abdominal bleeding was discovered.

Although urgent surgery was needed, the hospital did not have surgical staff to perform the operation. The hospital staff requested a transfer to Yonsei University Severance Christian Hospital in Wonju, Gangwon Province, but Severance Christian Hospital refused the surgery, citing that two surgical patients were already waiting. Chungbuk National University Hospital in Cheongju reportedly attempted to contact several times but did not receive any answer.

Ultimately, Mr. A was transferred to Ajou University Hospital in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, about 100 km away, at around 1:50 a.m. the next day and received treatment, but he passed away at around 2:22 a.m., nine hours after the accident.

Regarding this, Konkuk University Chungju Hospital, which first refused Mr. A’s transfer, stated that his death was not related to collective action by the medical community, explaining, "The hospital is operating normally, but due to a shortage of doctors, even if a professor is on duty, it is difficult to accept patients outside their specialty." It was revealed that most residents at the higher-level general hospitals, Wonju Severance Christian Hospital and Chungbuk National University Hospital, were refusing to work and not coming to the hospital at that time.

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