The young girl who was refused entry to a series of Taipei hospitals after being severely injured by her abusive father will be declared brain-dead today, medical officials said yesterday.
Executive deputy superintendent Tung Jui-lung (
Chiu had been severely beaten by her father before being forced to travel to Taichung for treatment after being turned away at the Municipal Jen Ai Hospital and other Taipei City hospitals.
The resulting uproar triggered an investigation into why Chiu was refused treatment when there were sufficient beds in the hospitals.
The Department of Health declared on Friday that it would make changes to a national system for patient transfers.
The new system is expected to take effect in June.
After discussions with various hospital and emergency surgical experts on Friday, the department decided that it would establish six medical-care sectors.
Within each sector, hospitals will be classified according to a three-point scale based on medical-care capability.
In the new system, patients needing emergency care must be accepted by "grade one" hospitals in the sector and cannot be transferred to hospitals in other sectors.
In the event of a large-scale medical emergency, however, patients will be transferred to hospitals between sectors as needed via the national Emergency Operations Center.
The six sectors will be aligned with the nation's six national health insurance divisions: the Taipei region, including Taipei City, Taipei County and Ilan; the northern region, including greater Hsinchu and Miaoli counties; the central region, including greater Taichung, Changhua and Nantou counties; the southern region, including Yunlin, Chiayi, and Tainan; a region including Kaohsiung City, Kaohsiung County and Pingtung; and an eastern region, including Hualien and Taitung counties.
LOOKING NORTH: The base would enhance the military’s awareness of activities in the Bashi Channel, which China Coast Guard ships have been frequenting, an expert said The Philippine Navy on Thursday last week inaugurated a forward operating base in the country’s northern most province of Batanes, which at 185km from Taiwan would be strategically important in a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Northern Luzon Command Commander Lieutenant General Fernyl Buca as saying that the base in Mahatao would bolster the country’s northern defenses and response capabilities. The base is also a response to the “irregular presence this month of armed” of China Coast Guard vessels frequenting the Bashi Channel in the Luzon Strait just south of Taiwan, the paper reported, citing a
A total lunar eclipse, an astronomical event often referred to as a “blood moon,” would be visible to sky watchers in Taiwan starting just before midnight on Sunday night, the Taipei Astronomical Museum said. The phenomenon is also called “blood moon” due to the reddish-orange hue it takes on as the Earth passes directly between the sun and the moon, completely blocking direct sunlight from reaching the lunar surface. The only light is refracted by the Earth’s atmosphere, and its red wavelengths are bent toward the moon, illuminating it in a dramatic crimson light. Describing the event as the most important astronomical phenomenon
Three batches of banana sauce imported from the Philippines were intercepted at the border after they were found to contain the banned industrial dye Orange G, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. From today through Sept. 2 next year, all seasoning sauces from the Philippines are to be subject to the FDA’s strictest border inspection, meaning 100 percent testing for illegal dyes before entry is allowed, it said in a statement. Orange G is an industrial coloring agent that is not permitted for food use in Taiwan or internationally, said Cheng Wei-chih (鄭維智), head of the FDA’s Northern Center for
UNDER PRESSURE: The report cited numerous events that have happened this year to show increased coercion from China, such as military drills and legal threats The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) aims to reinforce its “one China” principle and the idea that Taiwan belongs to the People’s Republic of China by hosting celebratory events this year for the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, the “retrocession” of Taiwan and the establishment of the UN, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said in its latest report to the Legislative Yuan. Taking advantage of the significant anniversaries, Chinese officials are attempting to assert China’s sovereignty over Taiwan through interviews with international news media and cross-strait exchange events, the report said. Beijing intends to reinforce its “one China” principle
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