70-year-old man died after denied of medical care

Sunday, January 13, 2008 at 05:28 EST

OSAKA — A 70-year-old man who was suffering from chest pains died after having been rejected by 21 hospitals and lapsing into a critical condition in an ambulance in Osaka last March, rescue staff said Saturday. A rescue team picked up the man in Kanan, Osaka Prefecture, and asked 21 hospitals in 11 neighboring municipalities to accept him. But all of them turned down their request, the staff said.


He fell into a critical condition about one hour later, and was finally accepted by the emergency center at Kinki University hospital, which had previously refused him. But he died 17 days later, according to the rescue staff. In Osaka, a series of such incidents has been reported recently. The Fire and Disaster Management Agency has launched a nationwide study on similar cases to improve the emergency medical care system.

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