SAPPORO (Kyodo) Eleven hospitals refused to admit a 2-year-old girl with a head injury in November in Sapporo, saying they lacked the expertise or staff to handle the case, fire officials said Friday.
The infant was finally accepted by a general hospital that had rejected her once, 67 minutes after the fire department was called to help her.
According to the fire department, the girl was suffering a subdural hematoma and had become groggy, presumably after hitting her head at home.
Her condition remains unknown, they said.
The fire department said it suspects the hospitals were reluctant to accept the infant because her case involved both the cerebral surgery and pediatrics departments.