Resident doctors under police investigation for 'Emergency Room Roundabout'... Medical Association calls it a "witch hunt"

Police Investigate Daegu Fatima Hospital Residents
Medical Association Protests "Death Sentence for Essential Medical Care"

In March, a 17-year-old trauma patient who died after failing to find an emergency room in Daegu was initially brought to Daegu Fatima Hospital. A resident doctor, Mr. A, from the hospital's Department of Emergency Medicine is currently under police investigation as a suspect. The Daegu Medical Association strongly criticized this as an "unreasonable witch hunt."

On the 22nd, the Daegu Northern Police Station applied charges against Mr. A for refusing patient admission without justifiable reason under the Emergency Medical Service Act and is conducting an investigation.

Daegu Fatima Hospital refused to admit the 17-year-old trauma patient who fell from a building on March 19. The patient, unable to find a hospital, wandered for two hours in the ambulance searching for an emergency room before ultimately passing away.

Mr. A explained during the police investigation that based on the 119 paramedics' report suspecting a suicide attempt and his assessment that the patient was conscious and had stable vital signs, he transferred the patient to Kyungpook National University Hospital, where psychiatric inpatient treatment was available.

The Daegu Medical Association strongly opposed the patient's death, stating it was due to a "distorted medical environment and poor emergency medical system."

In a statement released that day, the Daegu Medical Association explained, "The hospital did not have a psychiatric inpatient ward and was unable to admit psychiatric emergency patients such as those attempting suicide. Additionally, on the day of the incident, the emergency room was crowded, and a 'patient admission not possible' message was posted on the emergency medical information board. Nevertheless, the 119 paramedics transported the patient here."

The association further pointed out, "The reality is that too many patients flood the emergency room, making it very difficult for critically ill patients to receive timely and appropriate treatment. Proposals such as expanding regional critical emergency medical centers and supporting departments responsible for emergency patients have all been ignored, while only individual doctors face repeated punishment."

The association stated, "There must never be a case where a young doctor, who works hard and under difficult conditions to protect the emergency room, is unfairly sacrificed," and solemnly urged, "Forced investigations against residents are a death sentence for essential medical care in South Korea, and we demand an immediate end to this unreasonable witch hunt."