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A patient whose arrival at a hospital was delayed by 16 minutes after the ambulance he was in made a wrong turn on a Tokyo expressway later died, the Tokyo Fire Department said Monday.
According to the department, the seriously ill patient, a man in his 70s, was being transported from a hospital in Shinagawa Ward to one in Koto Ward at around 11:10 a.m. on Oct 7, Sankei Shimbun reported.
Instead of turning onto the Oi entrance of the Metropolitan Expressway’s Bayshore Route, the driver mistakenly took the Central Circular Route’s Chukan Oi-Minami entrance. The mistake caused a 16-minute delay in the patient’s arrival at the Koto Ward hospital.
The patient took a sudden turn for the worse during the trip and began vomiting blood in the ambulance. His condition quickly deteriorated and he died the next day.
A Tokyo Fire Department spokesman, Kiyotaka Kurosaki, released a public apology on Monday, stating, “This was an incident that should not have occurred, and I send my deepest apologies. We will take preventative measures to prevent similar incidents.”
© Japan Today
5 Comments
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smithinjapan
“This was an incident that should not have occurred, and I send my deepest apologies. We will take preventative measures to prevent similar incidents.”
Yeah... how many times have we heard this in the medical community, as patients die en route to hospitals in a nation that is supposed to have such great concern and care. I hope there is a substantial lawsuit in the works.
shogun36
I'm sure, that'll make up for the loss.....................
Kag
It is a sad and tragic mistake, don't forget that the drivers are only human and can make mistakes.
Imagine this incident haunting him for the rest of his life.
wanderlust
As a frequent driver along that route, the multiple signs and road markings are confusing, with many advance warning signs for junctions mixed with signs for interections. I once missed the Shiodome exit a little further along, and it took around 30 minutes to be able to leave the highway and get back to my destination. With all the new roads in the area, car navigation units are useless unless updated, while google maps on a Smartphone tells you go to North or East, instead of left or right,
tooheysnew
@kag - spot on .
Obviously a couple of people above are perfect & have never made a mistake in their lives.