Man in his 50s with finger amputation transferred 90km to Jeonju after being unable to receive treatment at 4 emergency rooms in Gwangju

No Life Threat After Junction Surgery Following Arrival in Jeonju

On the second day of the Chuseok holiday, a man in his 50s who had his finger amputated in Gwangju was unable to receive treatment at four hospitals within Gwangju and was transported over 90 km away to Jeonju, Jeollabuk-do.

At around 1:31 PM on the 15th, the man suffered a finger amputation accident when his finger got caught in a door gap at an apartment in Gwangsan-gu, Gwangju.

The 119 emergency team inquired at two university hospitals, one general hospital, and one orthopedic specialty hospital, but these hospitals could not accept the patient due to the absence of doctors or holidays.

A paramedic transporting a patient in front of the emergency room of a large hospital [Image source=Yonhap News]

Eventually, the emergency team transported the patient about 94 km away to an orthopedic hospital in Jeonju, Jeollabuk-do, taking approximately 1 hour and 8 minutes.

The patient arrived at the hospital at around 3:37 PM, two hours after the accident, and is currently undergoing reattachment surgery with no threat to his life.

A Gwangju Fire Department official stated, "Without any waiting time, we found the hospital that could provide the fastest treatment and transported the patient from Gwangju to Jeonju, about an hour away," adding, "Hospitals in the Gwangju area did not refuse treatment."