[Anchor]

A tragic incident has occurred in Jeonju, Jeonbuk, where a newborn baby passed away. Despite the urgent need for treatment by a neonatologist due to oxygen deprivation and a dropping heart rate, the baby could not find a hospital to accept them and ultimately lost their life. This incident, occurring in a region suffering from a shortage of neonatologists, highlights the reality of concerns regarding gaps in medical care.

Reported by Park Ha-jeong.

[Reporter]

At 8:13 p.m. on July 4, a baby was born at an obstetrics and gynecology clinic in Jeonju, Jeonbuk.

[Baby's Mother: They said the baby was 3.47 kg. (The doctor) said not to worry about weighing the baby, but to quickly provide 2 liters of oxygen. If the situation was that critical, they should have informed the guardians...]

[Hospital Official: The baby did not cry for about 3 to 5 minutes. Usually, if you pat or tap them, they cry and recover. So, the baby did recover.]

When the baby showed signs of cyanosis, where the body turns bluish due to a lack of oxygen in the blood, and the heart rate dropped to 70 after midnight, a nursing assistant called the doctor. The medical staff then began preparing to transfer the baby to a hospital with a neonatologist.

[Baby's Father: They told me to come down quickly because they had to transfer the baby. They told me to bring my own car. They said the baby was just limp.]

The nearby hospitals with neonatologists were Chonbuk National University Hospital, Jesus Hospital, and Wonkwang University Hospital.

Among them, the only professor and neonatologist who had been in charge of the neonatal intensive care unit at Chonbuk National University Hospital had expressed an intention to resign due to an excessive workload and was on leave.

For this reason, the obstetrics clinic did not contact Chonbuk National University Hospital. They stated that Jesus Hospital was full and could not accept new patients, so they headed to Wonkwang University Hospital, located more than 30 minutes away by car, with the baby.

The baby was already unable to breathe, and after cardiopulmonary resuscitation, passed away around 3:30 a.m.

[Hospital Official: Because the judgment was delayed and the coordination was also late, it seems that, in retrospect, it led to the worst possible outcome.]

The parents, who had been waiting for the day they would meet their child and had left messages for the baby on ultrasound photos, had to say goodbye as soon as they met.

[Baby's Father: Anyone could see the golden time, the warning lights were flashing. (The baby) was asking to be saved.]

The police have launched an investigation into whether there was any medical malpractice.

(Video reporting: Joo Yong-jin, Video editing: Kim Jin-won)