South Korean woman who had sudden heart failure refused treatment by 22 hospitals
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She finally received medical care at around 5.45am, more than three hours after her heart had stopped.
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SEOUL - A woman with heart failure was refused treatment by 22 hospitals before being admitted, emergency workers said Jan 8, marking yet another case of an emergency patient being unable to receive needed care amid the ongoing medical strike and stand-off.
Emergency personnel in Cheongju, 112km south of Seoul, received a report at around 2pm on Jan 7 from a man who said his girlfriend, stopped breathing, according to the Chungbuk Fire Service Headquarter.
The rescue workers who arrived on the scene found the patient, who is in her 30s, barely breathing, after her boyfriend had begun cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
The woman, who suffered a sudden heart failure while drinking, was deemed an emergency patient, and the rescue workers reached out to 22 hospitals in North and South Chungcheong provinces, as well as in the greater Seoul area. But all of them refused to take her, citing the lack of a specialist or resources to treat her.
She was ultimately admitted to a hospital 100km away from where she collapsed and received medical care at around 5.45am – more than three hours after her heart had stopped.
Emergency workers said her condition had been dire at the time, having regained consciousness only just before she arrived at the Suwon hospital in Gyeonggi province.
The woman had issues communicating after she was revived, and medical staff are watching to see if the heart failure has left any lasting damage such as paralysis.
Doctors across the country have been participating in a mass walkout
The stand-off has led to a severe staff shortage at hospitals, with more reports of emergency patients facing delays in receiving medical care.
There were 3,071 cases of emergency patients being turned away by hospitals
