"No Doctors" Rotations at Over 10 Places... Death of a 50s Busan Heart Disease Patient

Surgery Performed in Ulsan Over 50km Away
Bereaved Family Files Complaint with Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission

A man in his 50s with an acute heart condition was unable to find an emergency surgery hospital in Busan and was transferred to Ulsan after about four hours, but ultimately passed away. The bereaved family filed a petition requesting clarification on whether this was related to the collective resignation of resident doctors.

On the 11th, the Busan Fire and Disaster Headquarters reported that at around 6:13 a.m. on the 26th of last month, a 119 emergency call was received reporting that a man in his 50s, Mr. A, was experiencing chest pain in a parking lot in Jwacheon-dong, Dong-gu, Busan. The ambulance carrying Mr. A inquired at about ten major large hospitals in Busan with emergency rooms. However, the only responses received were that "there are no doctors" or "treatment is not possible," indicating that emergency room use was not available.

About 45 minutes after the 119 call, at around 7 a.m., Mr. A was transferred to a hospital in Suyeong-gu, Busan. There, he was diagnosed with 'acute aortic dissection,' which required emergency surgery. 'Aortic dissection' is a condition where the aorta, which carries blood from the heart to the entire body, tears; it is a severe disease with a high risk of death even with urgent surgery. The hospital was unable to perform surgery for 'acute aortic dissection,' so the medical staff contacted several hospitals in Busan again but could not find a place to transfer him.

Eventually, at around 10:30 a.m., Mr. A arrived at a hospital in Ulsan more than 50 km away from the hospital and underwent emergency surgery. Mr. A underwent surgery for 10 hours but ultimately passed away on the 1st. The bereaved family stated, "He died because he could not receive emergency surgery," and filed a petition with the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, claiming that the hospitals' refusal to transfer was influenced by the collective resignation of resident doctors. The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters is investigating the matter.

A Busan city official said, "We have reported the matter to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters," adding, "It will be up to the headquarters to determine whether this case constitutes a serious damage incident caused by the collective action of doctors."

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