4 Patient Deaths in 6 Months Spark Suspicion at Psychiatric Hospital

The National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) announced today (October 6) that it has filed a criminal complaint with the Serious Crime Investigation Office against the director of a psychiatric medical institution where four patients died over a span of six months, citing professional negligence resulting in death and other charges.

To investigate a petition alleging that Won Hospital in Michuhol-gu, Incheon, was providing inadequate meals to patients and restricting their mail, the NHRCK conducted an unannounced visit to the hospital on July 2.

However, during the visit, the commission uncovered additional circumstances of human rights violations, such as patients being physically restrained within hospital rooms and external lock devices being installed on ward doors. Consequently, the NHRCK decided to launch an ex officio investigation on July 16.

The investigation revealed that a total of four patients at Won Hospital were found in states of cardiac or respiratory arrest between January and June, and died either on the same day or within three days.

Patient A, a dementia patient who had been isolated in a seclusion room, was found in a state of cardiac arrest by a nursing assistant during the early morning hours of January—when there was not a single medical professional present in the entire hospital—and ultimately died from traumatic subdural hemorrhage.

Patient B, a patient with an intellectual disability, lived alone for 325 days in a locked room because he allegedly took food from other patients. He was found in a state of cardiac arrest by a nursing assistant on a February morning and died of asphyxiation while being transported in a vehicle.

Patient C, a schizophrenia patient, was found in a state of cardiac arrest during the night hours of March when no medical staff were present at the hospital, and died from gastrointestinal bleeding. Patient D, a patient with alcohol dependence syndrome, experienced respiratory distress while eating cup noodles in June, was transported to another facility, and died of multiple organ failure.

The NHRCK stated that evidence of patients being improperly isolated and physically restrained at the hospital was also uncovered.

Patient E, an individual with autism spectrum disorder, was isolated for 200 days in a locked room on the grounds that he stole another patient's coffee. No records, such as instructions from a neuropsychiatry specialist or justifications for the isolation and restraint, remained regarding this measure.

Furthermore, nursing assistants and caregivers isolated and restrained patients between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. the following day without any medical staff present at the hospital, which constituted unlicensed medical practices.

In addition, it was revealed that six patients were processed as voluntary or consented admissions even though they had difficulty communicating, and five patients who were processed as voluntary or consented admissions stated to investigators that they had never agreed to be admitted.

The NHRCK filed a complaint with the head of the Serious Crime Investigation Office against the hospital director on charges including professional negligence resulting in death, confinement, ordering unlicensed medical practices, and violating the obligation to preserve records.

Complaints were also filed against nursing assistants and caregivers for violating isolation and restraint procedures.

The commission recommended that the head of the Michuhol Health Center take necessary administrative measures such as suspending the operations of Won Hospital, and urged the Minister of Health and Welfare to implement measures to improve the practice of wrongful isolation and restraint in psychiatric medical institutions.

Meanwhile, the Metropolitan Investigation Unit of the Incheon Provincial Police Agency previously received a related complaint from the bereaved family of one of the deceased patients and initiated an investigation into the hospital director and others. Today, starting at 10:00 a.m., police conducted a search and seizure at Won Hospital.

Police deployed five investigators for today's search and seizure and reportedly secured evidentiary materials, including medical records.

However, police explained that the search and seizure was not coordinated in advance with the Serious Crime Investigation Office.

A police official stated, "We cannot disclose the specific targets of the search and seizure or the details of the materials secured."
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.