Korean doctors and parties seek rules after police search of pediatric ER

Police searched the pediatric emergency medical center at Ajou University Hospital, in southern Gyeonggi Province, on September 30, Maeil Business and Yonhap reported. The search is part of an investigation into the July death of a five-month-old infant who had been waiting for a pediatric outpatient appointment at the hospital, showed sudden breathing difficulty, was moved to the pediatric emergency center for emergency treatment and died, according to Maeil Business. [ 2 , 3 ]

The National Council of Medical School Professors said in an October 6 statement that a direct search of a treatment space tied to life, such as an emergency room, should be a last resort, and that an investigation must be carried out minimally without interfering with care. It said the process of establishing the truth about one patient's death must not put at risk the lives of other patients who could be saved, arguing that police entering the room can disrupt treatment and undermine doctors' concentration, according to Chosun Ilbo and Maeil Business. The council said emergency rooms handle care where a delay of seconds can decide life or death, and asked for a clear explanation of what evidence required entering the emergency treatment space about two months after the incident, when medical records, prescriptions and duty records could be obtained from outside. It also said unavoidable complications must be distinguished from actual medical negligence, and warned that pediatric care, already short of staff, could shrink further. [ 1 , 2 ]

Maeil Business reported that similar criticism had come from the Korean Medical Association on October 2, the resident group NGP on October 3, and the Korean Pediatric Hospital Association and the national trainee doctors' union, and that this was the first such clash since trainees who left hospitals in October last year returned and the government lifted its “serious” health and medical crisis alert about a year ago. NGP said the current practice of placing heavy investigative and criminal penalties on medical staff discourages emergency care, and that young doctors cannot be asked to remain in essential medicine under those conditions, the outlet reported. [ 2 ]

Politicians from both main parties called for new rules. Democratic Party spokesperson Shin Hyun-young told a National Assembly briefing that the truth of a medical accident must be thoroughly established and that an investigation is necessary, but that the method of investigation must not threaten the safety of other patients being treated at that moment, according to Yonhap. Shin, who is a doctor, said searches in an emergency room where treatment is under way can alarm patients and guardians and disrupt emergency care, and called for clear standards and manuals allowing investigators to secure needed materials without hindering treatment; she said the party would work with the government, the medical community and patient groups on improving procedures. Yonhap reported that Democratic Party lawmakers on the health and welfare committee met the Korean Society of Pediatric Emergency Medicine in the morning of October 6. [ 3 ]

People Power Party Rep. Baek Jong-heon, the opposition floor secretary on the health and welfare committee, and five other committee members held a press conference that afternoon. Yonhap quoted them saying that, according to the hospital, a six-month-old critically ill infant was receiving emergency treatment at the bed being inspected during the search. They urged police to disclose what measures were taken to protect patients and whether treatment was disrupted, and to set standards covering consultation with medical staff, the scope and timing of searches and treatment routes, along with a start date. [ 3 ]

The documents do not include any response from police to the medical groups' or politicians' demands, and no explanation has been given of the evidence police sought inside the emergency treatment space. [ 2 , 3 ]