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13.03.2008 03:09 World News
- Source: USATODAY.comTOKYO (AP) — More than 14,000 emergency patients were rejected by hospitals in Japan at least three times before getting treatment in 2007, a government survey said Tuesday.
The results of the survey came amid frequent reports in Japan of patients being rejected because doctors are not available or hospitals lack adequate facilities.
At least 3.5% of cases in serious condition were rejected three times or more by hospitals, according to a compilation of reports by ambulance workers conducted by the Fire and Disaster Management Agency.
"The results were more severe than we'd imagined," said Toshimi Koitabashi, an official with the disaster management agency.
In the worst case, a woman in her 70s who had trouble breathing was rejected 49 times in Tokyo, Koitabashi said.
It was unclear what happened to the elderly woman — or any other of the patients in the survey — because the agency did not investigate what happened to these patients after they were taken to hospital, he said.
Of the 411,625 patients in serious condition whose cases were reviewed, 14,387 were rejected more than three times by hospitals, according to the survey. A serious condition was defined as meaning the patient would need more than three weeks of hospitalization.
Patients were rejected because hospitals and clinics did not have enough staff or adequate facilities, according to the survey. Hospitals also said their beds were full.
Hospitals in large cities such as Tokyo and Osaka rejected patients more often than those in smaller cities, the survey showed.
Koitabashi said his agency and the Health Ministry will hold a meeting of local officials to discuss the problem.
"We want local governments to look into a better system to accept emergency patients," he said.
The survey underscores Japan's health care woes, in part created by a shortage of doctors in the country's rapidly aging society.
In some cases, patients have died while waiting for care.
In December, an 89-year-old woman died after an ambulance crew spent two hours trying 30 hospitals before finding one that would accept her for treatment.
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