[News Today] HOSPITALS PUNISHED FOR ER REFUSAL

[LEAD]
Last year in Daegu, a teenager died after being shuttled around in an ambulance for two hours. At that time, the Ministry of Health and Welfare imposed subsidy cuts on the involved hospitals for "refusal of emergency medical care." One hospital responded with a lawsuit, arguing they only reported the absence of medical staff, not a denial of care. What decision did the court make? We take a look.

[REPORT]
In March, last year, the emergency response service received a call that a teenage girl had fallen from a building and sent paramedics to the scene immediately.

The first place the emergency workers called was the Daegu Catholic University Medical Center, but the hospital refused to take the patient.

The reason was that there were no neurosurgeons available.

The girl was bounced around several hospitals for over two hours before dying in the ambulance.

This case prompted the health ministry to investigate the matter for around a month before handing down administrative measures, including subsidy cuts, on the Daegu Catholic University Medical Center and three other hospitals.

Health ministry official/ (Apr. 2023)
They first requested trauma treatment, so the hospital should have checked everything related to the treatment.

However, the hospital filed a lawsuit, claiming that cutting off the subsidy for six months is excessive.

The hospital argued it didn't refuse emergency care, saying they had informed the patient that all neurosurgeons were unavailable at the time and recommended another hospital.

But the court ruled in favor of the ministry and its measure to cut subsidies.

The Seoul Administrative Court also sided with the ministry, saying the hospital's action was clearly a refusal and evasion of emergency medical services.

The ruling emphasized that the hospital should have at least conducted a basic examination to determine whether the person was an emergency patient.

With prolonged medical service gaps and the patients still being rejected at ERs, the ruling's impact on the healthcare system is drawing attention.