"No Doctor," "Too Difficult"... 18-Month-Old Child with Finger Amputation Rejected by 15 Hospitals

"No Doctor Available for Treatment" "Too Severe, Unable to Treat"
Rejected by 15 Hospitals Including Seoul National University Hospital and Asan Medical Center
Paramedics: "Bleeding Was Severe, Patient Was on the Verge of Shock"

Stock photo of an ambulance unrelated to the article content. Photo by Hyunmin Kim

An emergency situation occurred in which the fingers of an 18-month-old infant were severed, but it was revealed that 15 hospitals in Seoul refused to admit the child.

According to a report by Dong-A Ilbo on the 22nd, around 1:47 PM on the 16th, a boy named Lee-mo (1 year old) was walking with his mother, Yang-mo (36), in an apartment in Seoul when he collided with a metal signboard that read "No Vehicle Traffic" and fell. During this incident, Lee-mo's right middle and ring fingers got caught in the signboard, resulting in the severing of two fingers. Yang immediately called 119, and the rescue team arrived in less than five minutes, but the ambulance could not depart. This was because all 15 hospitals contacted in Seoul responded that they could not admit Lee-mo.

Among the hospitals that refused admission, four were tertiary general hospitals: Hanyang University Hospital, Seoul National University Hospital, Asan Medical Center, and Korea University Anam Hospital. Hanyang University Hospital stated that "orthopedic treatment is not possible," Seoul National University Hospital refused admission saying "finger reattachment surgery cannot be performed," Asan Medical Center said "the patient is too young," and Korea University Anam Hospital reportedly said "there is no doctor available to treat the patient." The others were smaller, medium-sized hospitals. Some hospitals refused treatment citing concerns such as "if anesthesia is administered too strongly, food in the stomach may reflux and block the airway."

The paramedics who responded to the scene told the media, "The child's bleeding was severe and he was on the verge of shock," adding, "Since it was a life-threatening situation, hospitals in distant provinces could not be considered." They also added, "Most of the reattachment hospitals in Seoul and the metropolitan area refused admission." Yang said, "I had only seen 'emergency room round trips' on the news, but experiencing it firsthand was serious," and "In the urgent situation, I contacted hospitals together with the paramedics to directly inquire about admission availability." Lee-mo arrived at Newstart Hospital located in Songpa-gu, Seoul around 3 PM that day, underwent surgery preparation, and reportedly received reattachment surgery around 9 PM and is currently recovering.

Due to the prolonged conflict between the medical community and the government, patients in critical conditions continue to face the 'round trip' situation of being refused admission. In September, an 8-year-old patient with juvenile diabetes in Cheongju, Chungbuk, was transferred to Incheon after failing to find a hospital that could treat him.