South Korea: Death of 4-month-old baby from cardiac arrest sparks controversy over emergency room transfer

A 4-month-old baby was found in cardiac arrest in Paju, Gyeonggi-do, and died shortly after being transported to a hospital, sparking controversy over the "emergency room shuffling."
According to police and fire authorities on the 13th, at around 7:34 a.m. on the 11th, a report was made that a 4-month-old baby was not breathing at an apartment in Geumchon-dong, Paju City.
The ambulance crew arrived at the scene 11 minutes later, at around 7:45 a.m. The child was showing signs of cyanosis and was already in a state of rigor mortis.
Immediately after the report was received, the fire department, along with the Regional Situation Room of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, contacted 12 hospitals. Eleven hospitals responded that they were unable to accept the patient, but the Seoul Metropolitan Government
Ewha Women's University Seoul Hospital in Magok-dong, Gangseo-gu was able to accept the patient, so the ambulance departed for Ewha Women's University Seoul Hospital at 7:57 a.m.
Paramedics performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on the child in the ambulance. The child received chest compressions and oxygen in the ambulance before being transported to the hospital, but died after arriving at the hospital at 8:30 a.m.
In response, a member of the Gyeonggi Provincial Assembly and some media outlets claimed that the baby had been transferred to another emergency room an hour later and had died in the process.
The Special Committee on Medical Disasters also issued a statement saying, "A four-month-old baby who went into cardiac arrest in Paju was refused admission by 11 hospitals and ultimately lost his life. The number of re-transfers has increased due to the recent medical disaster."
"As a result, there are an increasing number of cases where patients who could have been saved miss the golden time and die," he said. Meanwhile, fire authorities said the incident occurred when the patient was wandering around unable to find an emergency medical center.
A fire department official said, "When the report was filed, the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the fire department simultaneously called each hospital, and the patient arrived at the hospital relatively quickly.
Despite the time of day, the patient was immediately transferred to Ewha Womans University Seoul Hospital without stopping at any other hospitals."