BOY DIES AFTER RECEIVING TONSILLECTOMY

[Anchor Lead]

A five-year-old boy from Yangsan who fell into a coma back in October after tonsillectomy has passed away. His bereaved family have filed a petition demanding that surveillance cameras be installed in operating rooms. In just nine hours the petition received support from more than 26,000 people.

[Pkg]

Back in October five-year-old Kim Dong-hee, underwent tonsillectomy at Pusan National University Yangsan Hospital. The surgery was performed to eliminate snoring and sleep apnea caused by enlarged tonsils. Tonsillectomy usually takes an hour. But in the boy's case it lasted more than two hours. Three days after the surgery Kim's parents requested their son be hospitalized longer because of severe complications. But his doctor insisted it was okay to discharge the patient as such conditions were common after surgery.

[Soundbite] KIM SO-HEE(LATE KIM DONG-HEE'S MOTHER) : "I told the doctor that my son couldn't take medicine or eat or even drink water. I asked him to let us stay in the hospital longer, but he just sneered."

The boy was eventually transferred to another general hospital in Busan to receive treatment. Six days after the surgery, the operated part ruptured, resulting in heavy bleeding. The hospital staff and emergency service workers tried to transport the boy back to the hospital where he received surgery, but it refused to accept him just six minutes before his arrival for an unknown reason. In the end, Kim was transported to another university hospital but he was brain-dread. Five months later, he passed away.

[Soundbite] (RESCUE WORKER WHO TRANSPORTED KIM(VOICE MODIFIED)) : "It was beyond comprehension. He was operated at Pusan National University Yangsan Hospital, but they wouldn't accept him. We had no other choice."

The boy's medical record is also a problem. The medical record for October 11 says there was nothing unusual in his treatment. But when Kim was waking up from anaesthesia on October 29, he was bleeding and was placed under general anaesthesia again. The hospital staff added to the medical record that he needed to be monitored closely. In just 18 days, the boy's medical record grew from 25 pages to 28. Three doctors who were in the OR at the time either quit or were transferred to the main hospital in Busan. KBS visited the operating surgeon, but he refused to comment, and the hospital issued no official stance on the matter. Kim Dong-hee's family filed a petition demanding the Medical Service Act be amended so that surveillance cameras become mandatory in ORs. In just nine hours the petition was signed by more than 26,000 people.