Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) has cancelled a trip to Australia in order to deal with a crisis that erupted after city hospitals turned away a critically injured child.
"I think at this moment it is best to stay in the country to clear things up," Ma told reporters yesterday.
PHOTO: CNA
"It's a shame to the capital that the hospitals didn't do everything in their power to treat the girl," he said.
Ma decided to cancel the visit late Friday after a hospital allegedly admitted to sending the child away despite having a vacancy in its intensive care unit.
Ma had postponed the Australian trip scheduled for Thursday by two days amid mounting criticism over his handling of the issue.
He had also planned to visit Thailand and make a transit stop in Hong Kong.
Ma, who has been tipped to run for president in 2008, has seen his popularity hit a record low in several surveys this week after the incident provoked a public outcry over the poor state of Taipei's health-care system.
Meanwhile, the Municipal Jen Ai Hospital did not try its best to help, Taipei Deputy Mayor Yeh Chin-chuan (
"Jenai's emergency room was really full on the day," Yeh said. "But it would have been possible to spare an additional spot for the little girl if [the medical personnel at Jenai] had tried," Yeh said.
Yeh made his remarks during a press conference at city hall yesterday morning, after city officials interrogated 11 employees of Jen Ai for more the seven hours overnight on Friday.
According to the preliminary investigation by the Taipei City Government, all beds at Jenai were occupied when the girl arrived.
However, it would have been possible for the hospital to perform surgery on the girl and then try to obtain a free bed for her afterwards, but the hospital did not do so.
"In addition, interviewees told us that they did not have adequate equipment to treat the girl," Yeh said. "That was another reason why they decided to refer her to other hospitals."
In the meantime, Yeh said that a well-organized and complete report on the case will be available tomorrow. Copies of the report will be delivered to the Taipei City Council, the Control Yuan and the Taipei District Prosecutors' Office for further investigation and potential punishment of some personnel.
The four-year-old girl, who was only identified by her surname, Chiu, was delivered to Jen Ai at midnight on Jan. 10 with serious brain injuries after she was beaten up by her father.
When Chiu was sent to Jen Ai, Emergency Room Chief Lee Bin-chou (李彬州) decided to help Chiu and asked for approval from Jen Ai's Doctor-in-Chief Lin Chih-nan (林致男).
However, Lin and neurological surgeon Liu Chi-hwa (劉奇樺) decided to try to send Chiu to a nearby hospital because they believed that Jen Ai did not have the available staff and equipment to help Chiu. In addition, there was no bed was available for Chiu at the time.
Chiu was then referred to Tung General Hospital in Taichung County, which is approximately 150km away and two to three hours' drive from Taipei City.
As of press time yesterday, Chiu was still in a coma in an intensive care unit.
"I asked Lee to refer Chiu to a nearby hospital because all of our equipment and neurological surgeons were occupied, so it was impossible for us to take good care of her," Lin said. "However, it surprised me as well that the `nearby hospital' turned out to be Tung General Hospital in Taichung."
At the press conference yesterday, Ma said that the city government is supposed to take care of Taipei citizens no matter what.
"I am not a doctor, so it would be improper for me to comment on a medical decision like this," Ma said. "However, as a mayor and a Taipei citizen, I believe that the city government is obliged to take care of its own citizens no matter what."
Later last night, at around 7pm, under the lead of the Taipei City Government's department of health director Chang Heng (
Alain Robert, known as the "French Spider-Man," praised Alex Honnold as exceptionally well-prepared after the US climber completed a free solo ascent of Taipei 101 yesterday. Robert said Honnold's ascent of the 508m-tall skyscraper in just more than one-and-a-half hours without using safety ropes or equipment was a remarkable achievement. "This is my life," he said in an interview conducted in French, adding that he liked the feeling of being "on the edge of danger." The 63-year-old Frenchman climbed Taipei 101 using ropes in December 2004, taking about four hours to reach the top. On a one-to-10 scale of difficulty, Robert said Taipei 101
Nipah virus infection is to be officially listed as a category 5 notifiable infectious disease in Taiwan in March, while clinical treatment guidelines are being formulated, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. With Nipah infections being reported in other countries and considering its relatively high fatality rate, the centers on Jan. 16 announced that it would be listed as a notifiable infectious disease to bolster the nation’s systematic early warning system and increase public awareness, the CDC said. Bangladesh reported four fatal cases last year in separate districts, with three linked to raw date palm sap consumption, CDC Epidemic Intelligence
Taiwanese and US defense groups are collaborating to introduce deployable, semi-autonomous manufacturing systems for drones and components in a boost to the nation’s supply chain resilience. Taiwan’s G-Tech Optroelectronics Corp subsidiary GTOC and the US’ Aerkomm Inc on Friday announced an agreement with fellow US-based Firestorm Lab to adopt the latter’s xCell, a technology featuring 3D printers fitted in 6.1m container units. The systems enable aerial platforms and parts to be produced in high volumes from dispersed nodes capable of rapid redeployment, to minimize the risk of enemy strikes and to meet field requirements, they said. Firestorm chief technology officer Ian Muceus said
MORE FALL: An investigation into one of Xi’s key cronies, part of a broader ‘anti-corruption’ drive, indicates that he might have a deep distrust in the military, an expert said China’s latest military purge underscores systemic risks in its shift from collective leadership to sole rule under Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), and could disrupt its chain of command and military capabilities, a national security official said yesterday. If decisionmaking within the Chinese Communist Party has become “irrational” under one-man rule, the Taiwan Strait and the regional situation must be approached with extreme caution, given unforeseen risks, they added. The anonymous official made the remarks as China’s Central Military Commission Vice Chairman Zhang Youxia (張又俠) and Joint Staff Department Chief of Staff Liu Zhenli (劉振立) were reportedly being investigated for suspected “serious
RSS