Patient with abdominal swelling and nosebleed left untreated... Psychiatrist on broadcast, patient found dead in hospital

Famous Psychiatrist Hospitalized After TV Appearance
Restrained for 1 Hour Despite Pleas... Left Neglected After Medication

A patient hospitalized at a hospital operated by a famous psychiatrist died in an accident.

According to the police and SBS on the 26th, a 36-year-old woman died of 'pseudo intestinal obstruction' after complaining of abdominal pain at a psychiatric hospital in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province last May.

The severely swollen abdomen of a patient on the 17th day of hospitalization.
Photo by SBS

Pseudo intestinal obstruction is a condition where there are no physical symptoms, but the intestines fail to perform peristaltic movements as if there were an intestinal obstruction, causing food and other contents to be unable to pass through the intestines and become congested.

In the released CCTV footage, the woman is seen lying on a single room bed clutching her abdomen and knocking on the door, pleading, "Please let me out." As her pleas continued past midnight, nursing assistants and caregivers entered, gave her medication, and tied her hands and feet to the bed. When the woman started bleeding from her nose and gasping for breath, they untied her restraints after an hour. However, even after releasing her, they left the room without taking further measures such as arranging treatment from other departments or transferring her.

The woman died on that day, 17 days after being admitted for treatment of addiction to diet pills containing narcotic substances.

The bereaved family stated that compared to when she was admitted, the patient’s abdomen had severely swollen, but she did not receive a consultation from the hospital’s internal medicine doctor nor was she recommended treatment at another hospital.

The family expressed their frustration, saying, "We deliberately came here because it is run by a famous psychiatrist and they talked about an addiction program. Anyone could see that her abdomen was abnormal, but until the time she died, she was tied up in a single room and only given medication."

In response, the hospital explained, "She was a chronic constipation patient and did not continuously complain of abdominal pain, so it was difficult to suspect intestinal obstruction."

The footage at the time of death also showed the hospital’s emergency response. After confirming that the woman lost consciousness, staff checked her pulse and massaged her hands and feet, then attempted cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) five minutes later. When the patient did not regain consciousness, they used a defibrillator about 20 minutes later.

The hospital stated, "The on-duty doctor was on call that day. We have regularly conducted training for accident responses such as CPR," and added, "There was no problem with the response at that time."

They further explained, "We plan to cooperate sincerely with the investigation. All staff are devastated by this unintended accident."

The police reportedly received a complaint from the bereaved family and have booked the hospital’s chief director and staff on charges including violation of the Medical Service Act, and have launched an investigation.