A local court ruled against a Daegu hospital that challenged government's decision to withdraw funding after the institution's refused to admit a teenage emergency patient, leading to her death.
Th Health Ministry decided not to provide government subsidies to four universities, including the Daegu Catholic University Medical Center (DCMC), for six months in response to their actions concerning a 17-year-old emergency patient in March.
The girl sustained a serious injury after falling from the fourth story of a building. Emergency responders contacted several hospitals including the university hospital, which said it could not take her in because it did not have a neurosurgeon present.
She suffered a cardiac arrest while being transported to another hospital, and died while receiving treatment by DCMC, which eventually ended up treating the patient.
The ministry discontinued subsidy payment to four hospitals that refused to take in the patient, and ordered them to rectify their procedures related to ER operations. But the foundation running the Daegu university hospital filed legal papers for the ministry to reverse the decision.
Seoul Administrative Court said in its verdict that the ministry was justified in accusing the hospital of violating the Emergency Medical Act.
"(The university) did not see the patient and seek proper procedures, but decided which field of expertise was necessary without even diagnosing the patient and refused to take her in," it said.
The act states that one should not refuse emergency treatment without justifiable reason.
"(The hospital) had ample staff and room in its facility, yet repeatedly refused to admit the emergency patient, which resulted in the patient dying.
Many of the hospitals across the country have been suffering from staff shortage amid an ongoing walkout by doctors to protest medical reforms, including an expansion of medical schools.
