Newborn Death Highlights Precarious Medical System Despite Warnings

[Anchor]

We recently reported that a newborn baby in Jeonju passed away after failing to find a hospital that could provide treatment. An investigation into the events of that night has revealed serious structural problems within the medical system.

Morning Zoom-in, Reporter Han Sung-hee.

[Reporter]

Professor Kim, who has been virtually solely responsible for the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at Jeonbuk National University Hospital.

Suffering from an overwhelming workload, including 90-hour work weeks and shifts lasting up to 50 consecutive hours, Professor Kim announced his resignation on June 28, stating, "If I continue to hold on, the system will only collapse further."

In Jeonju, where the baby was born, there are two hospitals with NICUs: Jeonbuk National University Hospital, where Professor Kim worked, and Jesus Hospital.

However, following Professor Kim's announcement of his resignation, Jeonbuk National University Hospital transferred two babies who were in its NICU to Jesus Hospital to ensure they received proper care.

The 12 beds in the Jesus Hospital NICU were already full, and as a result, they were unable to accept the baby who showed symptoms of respiratory distress on July 5.

What was the situation at Jeonbuk National University Hospital?

It has been confirmed that on the night of the incident, another neonatologist was on duty at Jeonbuk National University Hospital, and all 25 beds in its NICU were empty.

However, the obstetrics department did not inquire whether they could accept the baby. Instead, the baby was transported 22 kilometers away to Wonkwang University Hospital in Iksan, despite a hospital being just 10 minutes away.

The transfer took about an hour.

The obstetrics department explained that they did not contact Jeonbuk National University Hospital because they believed the NICU was not operational due to Professor Kim's absence.

[Obstetrics Department Official: We had already agreed among ourselves that since the (Jeonbuk National University Hospital NICU) was effectively closed because Professor Kim was not there, we would send patients to Jesus Hospital if a situation arose.]

The medical community emphasizes that NICUs have reached their limit and that this is a situation that could happen anywhere in the country, with some even describing the state of medical care outside the capital region as a disaster.

[Jang Yoon-sil / President of the Korean Society of Neonatology (Professor of Pediatrics at Samsung Medical Center): As residents avoid this specialty, every NICU is currently operating on a single-person on-call system. The structure is so fragile that if one or two people falter, the entire unit collapses.]

Medical experts warn that even in the capital region, where about 70% of the 200 neonatologists are concentrated, the absence of just one doctor can have a direct impact on a baby's life.

(Video Editing: Kim Jin-won, Design: Jeon Yu-geun)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.