OSAKA -- The Osaka prefectural and municipal governments on July 29 began urging more than 470 patients registered at three hospitals owned by the scandal-ridden Yasuda Hospital group to move to other medical institutions.
A joint prefecture-city council dispatched about 60 workers to support patients who may be suffering from insufficient medical treatment provided by the institutions, officials said. The Osaka-based hospital group includes Yasuda Hospital and Osaka Ensei Hospital in Sumiyoshi Ward and Yamatogawa Hospital in Kashiwara, officials said.
The group's director, Mototaka Yasuda, 77, and four other executives were arrested July 28 on suspicion of swindling the government out of 8 million yen by filing claims for phony medical bills to collect public funds. Hospital inspections conducted by the prefecture following the arrests revealed that one of the hospitals lacked essential medical supplies, such as the equipment used for intravenous drips. In addition, a shortage of funds may have affected the supply of meals and medical equipment for the patients, officials said.
The council is prepared to provide medical supplies to the three hospitals if necessary and plans to relocate the patients, in particular those being treated at Yasuda Hospital and Osaka Ensei Hospital, within the next two days. Of the 1,116 patients registered at the three hospitals before the scandal was disclosed in March, more than half have moved to other institutions.