8-Year-Old Who Swallowed Detergent in Cheonan Treated at Chungnam National University Hospital 80km Away After 3 Hours

Dankuk University Hospital Refuses Due to Difficulty in Providing Follow-Up Care

An 8-year-old girl in Cheonan, Chungnam, accidentally swallowed detergent and visited a regional emergency medical center, but since there was no pediatric emergency specialist, she was transferred to Daejeon, 80 km away from her home, and received treatment after about three hours.

According to Yonhap News and others on the 27th, A (8) mistook a bottle containing detergent for a water bottle and drank it in the afternoon of the previous day, then felt pain in her throat. A visited Soonchunhyang University Cheonan Hospital but could not receive treatment because there was no pediatric emergency specialist. Soonchunhyang University Cheonan Hospital, a regional emergency medical center, has only one pediatric emergency specialist on duty, so pediatric emergency patients can be cared for only during daytime hours on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

A’s guardian called 119 at 8:04 p.m. in front of Soonchunhyang University Cheonan Hospital. The dispatched ambulance crew checked with another regional emergency medical center in the area, Dankook University Hospital, about the possibility of transfer.

However, although a pediatric emergency specialist was on duty at Dankook University Hospital, they did not accept A due to difficulties in follow-up treatment. A representative of Dankook University Hospital explained, "In this case, after treatment, poisoning treatment should continue, but there was no specialist to treat pediatric poisoning," and added, "We recommended transfer to a hospital capable of follow-up treatment."

After inquiring about treatment availability at nine nearby medical institutions, the ambulance crew transferred A to Chungnam National University Hospital in Daejeon, 80 km away from Cheonan, at around 9:49 p.m.