A 69-year-old man hurt in a traffic accident in Hyogo Prefecture died last month after being refused treatment by 14 hospitals, a local fire department said Wednesday, providing yet another sign that the nation's emergency medical care services are failing.
The man was on a bicycle when he collided with a motorcycle in Itami at around 10:15 p.m. on Jan. 20. After arriving at the scene five minutes later, rescue workers gave the man first aid while seeking a hospital for about an hour.
But 14 hospitals in Hyogo and Osaka prefectures rejected the man because of a lack of specialists or empty beds, the fire department said.