Medical Staff Find It Hard to Refuse When Patients Complain of Severe Symptoms
"Hope to Work Confidently in Essential Medical Environments"
Professor Namgung In, an emergency medicine specialist at Ewha Mokdong Hospital, pointed out the issue of mild patients as one of the causes of the so-called 'emergency room spinning' accidents, where patients die because they cannot find an emergency room to be admitted to, on the 30th.
In an interview with SBS Radio's 'Kim Taehyun's Political Show' on the same day, Professor Nam said, "Patients and guardians end up having logical battles over the issue of mild patients, and in the process, the medical staff end up losing the fight," adding, "There are parents who say, 'My child is sick,' 'The IV fluids at small and medium hospitals don't work; my child must receive IV fluids at a regional center to get better.' Of course, it's the same IV fluids and the same medicine."
He noted that it is not uncommon for parents to claim their child is severely ill, resulting in the inability to admit actual severe patients.
Professor Nam explained, "When we (medical staff) say, 'Should we take the child to the regional center, put them in a negative pressure room, and not use the severe patient area for three hours?' they respond with, 'I saw my child; they were on the verge of death,' 'If my child falls, wouldn't they immediately become a severe patient?' 'Why are you saying that?' 'Why is the doctor saying that?' When they start talking like this, we just accept it because we have no justification to insist otherwise. If they say their child is dying to that extent, we accept them, which means we cannot admit other severe patients," he said.
On August 26, 2020, a patient is being transported to the emergency room at Seoul National University Hospital in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@
He continued, "Even now, there is a transfer system where mild patients can go to hospitals that do not necessarily have to be regional centers," adding, "However, there is a deeply rooted perception that you get better at a big hospital, that misdiagnoses are less likely, and you won't suffer unfair treatment. If they come and insist on staying, we have no choice."
Professor Nam said, "Since we are a regional center, we see many so-called emergency room spinning patients or patients coming from far away, including those coming from Jeju Island," adding, "If you take a plane from Jeju Island, you arrive at Gimpo. Among the regional centers closest to Gimpo, Ewha Mokdong Hospital is the second or third closest in terms of patient acceptance."
Regarding measures to solve the emergency room spinning problem, he said, "Government measures tend to try to solve the problem through authority and power," adding, "There are many laws that say if this patient cannot be treated, you must accept them by authority, or else you will be punished. These are enforced by law."
Professor Nam said, "Instead of forcing us, since we work out of a sense of mission, I just hope we don't feel like quitting and going into skincare business where I could live more comfortably," adding, "I just ask to be able to work in an essential medical environment with peace of mind."
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