Traffic accident victim dies after being refused admission by 14 hospitals

Wednesday 04th February, 02:17 PM JST

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suebe36d at 12:13 AM JST - 5th February

No beds/specialist available really meant high risk of non-payment? After all the advertising and a license to kill, why turn away business?
gonemad at 12:53 AM JST - 5th February

this happens so often and always the rescue staff has to call around to find a hospital. I don't get it, why do they have to call at all? They should know in advance which hospital has an emergency service in place at that time. It seems the whole system is completely fragmented and disorganized and that's the reason (not money, doctor's working ethic,...).
otakki at 01:37 AM JST - 5th February

Japan needs to do a census of specialists and practioners in every specialty across Japan and set up a quota for each specialties rather than letting medical students choose whatever they want to go into. That way, they can cut down abundance of certain specialties in Japan as well as eliminate unnecessary rampant specialties such as "beauty dermatology" and "IV treatments" as well as a host of other "snake oil" type of medical specialties.

Opponent will mention the need for medical student to pursue their interest, but that is just not possible. If medical students are allowed to choose whatever they like in the US, it will obviously turn into a situation similar to Japan. It happened in the past in the USA, possibly up until 1950's, when ACGME (Accredidation Council of Graduate Medical Education) stepped in to limit an overabundance of specialties.

If not, then Japan needs to recruit physicians from abroad and start preparing some English language medical board exams.
Luddite at 02:38 AM JST - 5th February

Spot on otakki. The training systems for all health care professionals needs to be reviewed and brought in line to meet 21st century health issues. And the Japanese need to swallow their nationalistic pride and recruit HCP's from abroad. Virtually every other country in the world does it, and I speak from experience when I say it this practice enhances healthcare. I was diagnosed with a serious illness last year, and after only a brief look into the care and treatment offered in Japan, I got on a flight home. I always worry about getting seriously ill in Japan.
OhioDonna at 03:01 AM JST - 5th February

Not another one. How sad for the families.
Crucades at 03:28 AM JST - 5th February

the family should sue each of the 14 hospitals for culpable homicide, this is an absolutely outragous story.

even in the UK this wouldnt happen.
ca1ic0cat at 03:59 AM JST - 5th February

The government really needs to come up with a plan to deal with this, and quickly. It is a national disgrace.
kokuryu at 05:15 AM JST - 5th February

He died of hemorrhagic shock. If he had gotten ANY emergency care at ANY hospital within the first 30 minutes, he would have LIVED. Instead he bled from the inside out and died because of the internal bleeding that was not stopped.

The people who run those 14 hospitals should all commit ritual seppuku. Hospitals should not be allowed to turn down ANY emergency requests at all.
techall at 10:18 AM JST - 5th February

the family should sue each of the 14 hospitals

And where does the hospital get the money to settle the law suit? From your taxes, so why don't you just go pay the family directly instead of running the money through the system?
And all you people talking about how good socialized medicine works in Canada and Cuba, you are looking at combined population of about 36 million (roughly the same as the Kanto plane) so the population/doctor ratio does not compare.
kwatt at 10:22 AM JST - 5th February

Hospitals sometimes refuse emergency requests if hospitals do not enough number of ER doctors/surgeons there or they are too busy to take care of another. It seems that many hospitals have shortage of doctors and nurses.
PuffinMuffin at 10:35 AM JST - 5th February

don't get seriously injured on this side of the planet...
Yelnats at 03:54 PM JST - 5th February

You do not search for a hospital for a dead man. Duh. My daughter when a baby, came down with a super high fever. We rushed her to an emergency room. Doctor there was weird. When I finally asked him what his specialty was, as he did not seem good with infants, he said "Dentist" what? I do like the health care here though, as long as you can convince them to put on new latex gloves before they touch you.
Ah_so at 10:14 PM JST - 5th February

Hospitals should not be allowed to turn down ANY emergency requests at all.

Agreed. Each area should have a fully staffed, fully funded, functioning accident and emergency centre where the injured can go and know they will get treatment. If this is fully socialised or legally enforced, then so be it. It is better than the present mess.

Non emergency or outpatient cases can be treated as they currently are.

My own daughter has been on the receiving end of this - paediatric emergency wards are few and far between and rarely operate in the evening.
flammenwerfer at 05:52 PM JST - 6th February

and to think some people get shirty when I don't pay the ridiculous shakai hoken or kokumin hoken - a massive waste of money that doesnt even guarantee you will get "served" at the hospital. I will take my chances with my much cheaper private health insurance and hope that I live long enough to make that 18th or 19th hospital. Japan needs its own Michael Moore to shake things up in this bizarrely run country and put things in the glaring limelight such as the utter shambles that is the health system. Perhaps something might change, but I doubt it. Also - all those hospital beds in the hospitals that denied were full? that doesn't surprise me: this country is a nation of hypochondriacs.
responsibility at 02:23 AM JST - 8th February

Each and every one of these public or private hospitals should be charged with murder. Maybe that will wake these corporations up. They are responsible and must be held accountable. If an individual had caused this man's death they would have been charged.