Severe Abdominal Pain Leads to '7-Hour ER Roundtrip'... Family of Deceased 50s Breadwinner Expresses Anguish

Emergency Surgery for Acute Peritonitis 7 Hours After 119 Call
Other Organs Damaged... Passed Away Two Days Later
"I Don't Know Where to Voice My Grievance"

It was recently revealed that a man in Geoje, Gyeongnam, who complained of abdominal pain, died due to being sent on a 'hospital emergency room round trip.'

Stock photo of an ambulance unrelated to the article / Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

According to Kyunghyang Shinmun and the Gyeongnam Fire Headquarters on the 16th, a report was received around 3:28 a.m. on the 6th of last month that a man in his 50s, Mr. A, residing in Yeoncho-myeon, Geoje City, was experiencing abdominal pain and vomiting. Mr. A had complained of sudden abdominal pain on his way home from work the previous day and went to a nearby hospital in a colleague’s car, where he received painkillers. He underwent CT (computed tomography), X-rays, and blood tests but was diagnosed with no abnormalities and sent home. However, Mr. A’s condition continued to worsen, and his family eventually called the 119 emergency medical service.

The paramedics who arrived at the scene inquired about transferring Mr. A to 10 nearby hospitals in Changwon, Jinju, Busan, and other areas for about an hour, but all refused. In desperation, Mr. A’s family sought help through social networking services (SNS). Meanwhile, a hospital in the Geoje area responded, saying, "We can at least give painkillers, so come over." The paramedics immediately transported Mr. A to that hospital, where he was diagnosed with acute peritonitis. The hospital stated, "This is an urgent situation requiring immediate surgery," but also said, "Due to a shortage of medical staff, surgery is difficult." They made several calls for about 70 minutes to find a hospital capable of performing the surgery, but the responses were only, "There is no doctor available for surgery," or "There is nothing we can do."

Meanwhile, Mr. A’s condition rapidly deteriorated, with a high fever, dropping blood pressure, and symptoms of pneumonia. Finally, they received a call from a hospital in Busan saying, "Surgery is possible," and after driving about 64 km for an hour and a half, they arrived at the emergency room. Ultimately, Mr. A was able to undergo surgery only at 10:30 a.m., 14 hours after complaining of abdominal pain and 7 hours after the 119 call. The surgery was completed successfully, but other organs were already damaged. Mr. A was moved to the intensive care unit, placed on a ventilator, and was declared dead due to cardiac arrest two days later. Mr. A’s daughter lamented, "My father lost consciousness gradually while wasting time on the 'emergency room round trip.' I don’t know where or how to express this injustice."

Heo Seok-gon, Commissioner of the National Fire Agency. [Source=Yonhap News]

Meanwhile, amid growing medical service gaps due to intensified political conflicts, Fire Commissioner Heo Seok-gon stated at the National Assembly’s Public Administration and Security Committee audit on the 10th, "To resolve the issue, we have reinforced the personnel at the 119 Emergency Medical Situation Management Center and actively assigned them to hospital selection duties."