Injured man dies after rejection by 14 hospitals

[CBEMT]

TOKYO — After getting struck by a motorcycle, an elderly Japanese man with head injuries waited in an ambulance as paramedics phoned 14 hospitals, each refusing to treat him.

He died 90 minutes later at the facility that finally relented — one of thousands of victims repeatedly turned away in recent years by understaffed and overcrowded hospitals in Japan.

Paramedics reached the accident scene within minutes after the man on a bicycle collided with a motorcycle in the western city of Itami. But 14 hospitals refused to admit the 69-year-old citing a lack of specialists, equipment and staff, according to Mitsuhisa Ikemoto, a fire department official.

The Jan. 20 incident was the latest in a string of recent cases in Japan in which patients were denied treatment, underscoring health care woes in a rapidly aging society that faces an acute shortage of doctors and a growing number of elderly patients.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/world/6246485.html

[ERDoc]

Good thing we have EMTALA (aka unfunded, mandated primary care) here in the US.

[Dustdevil]

I blame the fire medics.

[ERDoc]

I blame the fire medics.

You might be right. After the 4th or 5th refusal you would think they would have used the old, "You're breaking up. I can't copy you well. We'll just see you in 5 minutes," trick. Can you hear me now?

[Dustdevil]

After the 4th or 5th refusal you would think they would have used the old, "You're breaking up. I can't copy you well. We'll just see you in 5 minutes," trick. Can you hear me now?

They probably don't even speak English.

Losers.

[Kiwiology]

I blame the fire medics.

I think thats all you ever do

[itku2er]

Who is to say this will not happen in our country? I mean the way the economy is going and the way people are getting laid off and have no insurance who is to say that some day this very act will not happen to someone in the USA or it might have already happened. How many has actually transported a patient out of the way and not to the closest facality because the beds are full or they do not have the man power to work what is brought through the doors?

[ERDoc]

EMTALA and the lawyers will stop it. The hospitals will piss and moan about it but they will take the pt if they don't want to be hit with mucho fines and possibly shut down.

[itku2er]

But think to the future though ERDOC the way the ecomony is going I have to wonder if staffing will be cute depts closed down and in some cases probably some of the smaller rural hospitals too might face a cut or even closure if they can't turn a profit. How will that effect the way we have to handle calls and transport people.

[crotchitymedic1986]

It would only happen in the US if the medics were really stupid. Once you show up on the hospitals property they have to treat the patient. Sure, everyone at that hospital will be pissed off, but you have to do what is best for the patient. So if you guys ever find yourself in this situation, just show up at the ER you feel is best equipped to treat the patient.

This diversion crap really pisses me off. If I were king, no ER could go on diversion until the hospital had cancelled all elective surgeries that day.