Boy's emergency medical treatment delayed 2 hours due to staff shortage

An emergency room of a hospital in Seocho-gu, Seoul is seen in this photo taken Monday. (Yonhap)

Emergency rescue operators in Busan said Thursday that an ambulance carrying a middle school student had been turned away from multiple hospitals due to a lack of medical staff, causing a delay of treatment for the boy.

The mother of the 15-year-old living in Busan called the 119 emergency service when her son suffered what turned out to be acute appendicitis at around 7:30 p.m. on Monday, according to the Busan Metropolitan City Fire and Disaster Headquarters. But the university hospital that he was initially taken to, in Haeundae-gu in the eastern part of the city, said they were unable to operate on him.

Another general hospital in Suyeong-gu was unable to operate on an adolescent. The young patient was eventually taken to On General Hospital in Jin-gu, western Busan, at 9:37 p.m., where he successfully received an appendectomy.

While the boy's condition turned out to not be fatal, the mother told local media that she was terrified that her son may not be able to receive treatment during the two-hour search for a hospital.

Kim Dong-heon, chief of On General Hospital, said medical staff at his hospital have been swamped due to the nationwide shortage of doctors stemming from the ongoing standoff between the government and doctors. "If the situation persists, it may become impossible to conduct even the simplest of surgeries," he was quoted as saying.

Doctors across the country have been engaged in a monthslong standoff in protest of the government plan to substantially increase the medical school admissions quota. The mass walkout of doctors has led to a severe medical staff shortage, resulting in several cases where emergency medical treatments have been delayed.

It was found earlier this week that a cardiac arrest patient in her 30s was unable to receive emergency treatment for hours during the Chuseok holidays, despite emergency workers making 92 calls to adjacent hospitals. She died four hours after calling 119.

By Yoon Min-sik(minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com)