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7 Comments

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  sensei258 at 07:23 AM JST - 15th November

  In California, hospital emergency rooms MUST accept patients (regardless of their ability to pay) and care for them until they are "stabilized".

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  Apsara at 08:39 AM JST - 15th November

  It's the same in New Zealand, although we don't have the payment issue as emergency medical treatment is free. I can't understand why there has to be an "available bed" for a patient to receive emergency treatment- won't a stretcher do until the person's life has actually been saved and they are stable? Save the person first, worry about a bed later.

  I really, really hope that I never need emergency medical treatment in this country.

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  GW at 09:36 AM JST - 15th November

  sensei apsara

  come you two stop talking common sense here now, that is all to rare a phenomenon in Jpn, but it wud be very nice for the twits that be to lay down the law & force hosiptals to do what they are simply supposed to do.

  Time will tell of course, stay healthy!

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  Spanishwoman at 02:00 PM JST - 15th November

  Recently I went to emergency hospital at night in Spain and there was a homeless man (you could tell from his appearance) on a stretcher waiting for treatment. Probably he had taken to much drugs or something (he was young and did not look injured). I am absolutely sure he was not going to pay, but they saved his life and did not let him die on the street. Later another man came and I heard the doctor ask him "do you live anywhere?", sad enough, but they were also not expecting him to pay. Do Japanese doctors have any interest in saving lifes or they just work for the money?? Rejecting emergency patients can give an answer to that...

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  ptolemy at 02:41 PM JST - 15th November

  It never should have gone on this far. After the very first emergency patient was refused, there should have been action there and then. Not just Tokyo, but all of Japan needs reform. Until then, be careful and don't get ill. Perhaps better, learn the basics to avoid hospitals all together until after 9am the next morning, or after the weekend; at least until the entire country has medical reform.

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  cuddles20008 at 08:57 PM JST - 15th November

  Apsara Hello fellow KIWI!!!

  I bet the hospital is scared of being sued if they make a mistake.

  cuddles

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  kirakira25 at 09:12 AM JST - 16th November

  Advice to all until the system changes - if you can get to a hospital or get someone to take you, don`t call an ambulance. Once there, especially if you have a sick child, kick up as much of a fuss as you can until you are triaged and given any emergency care necessary to stabilise you/your child.

  Maybe then you can avoid the awful tragedy of my friends little boy - 2 years old, high fever and fitting, the ambulance drivers (who were not trained paramedics) wasted a good 15 minutes discussing where to take him. When he got there they wouldn`t treat him until his dad went through the registration process - another 10 or 15 minutes.

  He had meningitis, it turned out. A simple direct transfer to a hospital and an immediate infusion of (relatively cheap) antibiotics could have made the difference. It was too late.

  In the UK we have the same system - immediate free treatment to stabilise and worry about the ability to pay later. I pray that one day the J system will follow because I worry every time my kids get sick.

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