A 75-year-old Japanese man was turned away from 25 different hospitals 36 times over a two hour period in Japan. After finally being admitted to a hospital in a neighboring region, the man died.
The sad story unfolded last January in a neighborhood north of Tokyo, Japan's largest metropolitan area, a report from Japan Daily Press indicated, citing details about the two-month-old case that were finally revealed by city officials today.
All 25 of the emergency rooms paramedics attempted to deliver the man cited they had no beds or doctors available, the press reported. Several of the of the Saitama prefecture hospitals were called more than once before paramedics eventually had to take the man to an emergency room in neighboring Ibaraki prefecture.
The patient reportedly indicated to paramedics that he was having chest pains and trouble breathing. City officials stated paramedics were able to reach the man quickly and prepare him for transport but after calling all around the area could not find a hospital willing to admit him.
One of the paramedics who spoke to the press said they 've never seen a patient turned away from so many hospitals on one occasion.
The man lived in the small town of Kikui, where in the wake of his death city officials have urged local hospitals to begin improving the capacity of their emergency rooms.
Japan has a high population of elderly people. Population estimates project that by 2020 more than 25 percent of Japan's population will be 65 years or older. This lopsided population has resulted in a society that increasingly unable to care for the elderly, as the number of able, young workers is small compared to the significant numbers of elderly, the article said.
The hospitals that turned down the man did not comment on the issue.
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