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Bumby ride brings 'dead' to life
By Ni Tao |
January 14, 2010, Thursday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
THIS sounds like a grisly turn in some thriller: a dead man is jolted back to life by a bumpy bus ride. But this gruesome scene is not fictitious. It took place recently and exposed the fatal failure of some sloppy medical workers to do enough to save a dying man's life.
On January 8, Zhang Houming, 46, and his son Zhang Haibo, 23, were badly injured after their motorbike collided with a coach in Neijiang City, Sichuan Province. The ambulance arrived at the scene two hours later. Zhang was pronounced dead and doctors performed first aid on the son, who survived, the Southern Metropolis News reported on Sunday.
Shortly afterward, a bus carrying the presumed dead body departed on a road with potholes leading to a funeral parlor. Zhang's presumed corpse was put on ice for three hours.
Around 6pm, Zhang's family who came to claim the body found he was still alive, but with a slow heartbeat and low pulse. Zhang was whisked to the hospital, but he died an hour later.
Furious at the irresponsible emergency medical team - which denied that any negligence had resulted in the death - Zhang's family sought 1.52 million yuan (US$222,608) in compensation from the local government. The medical team was dispatched by a government-owned hospital.
The family also demanded that the feckless medical personnal involved be brought to justice. No one has been prosecuted so far.
The family's demand for financial compensation was only partially met. The government agreed to pay a maximum 200,000 yuan based on local standards. The family and the government have yet to settle on the compensation package.
As to penalizing those responsible, an official with the local health bureau said, "Zhang was resuscitated because of the bumpy bus ride," and added that doctors "don't have to bear any criminal responsibility" for not doing a thorough examination.
This statement, apart from raising many eyebrows, also has become the target of a popular spoof. The Hunan-based Changsha Evening News carried a commentary on Monday suggesting in jest that all newly deceased be put through this magic "bumpy ride medical procedure" and the dead may miraculously come back to life.
If it indeed works, why not nominate the innovative medical emergency team as a candidate for the Nobel Prize in Medicine?
Zhang's death highlighted an appalling void in professional ethics of some medical workers. A shock caused by the crash may have caused Zhang's heart to stop beating for a brief moment. A two-hour-late emergency medical team certainly contributed - and what caused that delay?
Starting resuscitation late and ending it prematurely surely are signs of callous disregard for human life.
Had the first aid staff exercised a little more humanity and care, would Zhang's death have been averted? Maybe.
Whether likely to be effective or not, resuscitation should always be attempted after a person is found technically dead by medical equipment.
Doctors who ignore this basic moral responsibility and even make a mockery of medicine by spinning a grotesque "bumpy ride revives dead person" theory are not worthy of the sacred job with which they are entrusted.
On January 8, Zhang Houming, 46, and his son Zhang Haibo, 23, were badly injured after their motorbike collided with a coach in Neijiang City, Sichuan Province. The ambulance arrived at the scene two hours later. Zhang was pronounced dead and doctors performed first aid on the son, who survived, the Southern Metropolis News reported on Sunday.
Shortly afterward, a bus carrying the presumed dead body departed on a road with potholes leading to a funeral parlor. Zhang's presumed corpse was put on ice for three hours.
Around 6pm, Zhang's family who came to claim the body found he was still alive, but with a slow heartbeat and low pulse. Zhang was whisked to the hospital, but he died an hour later.
Furious at the irresponsible emergency medical team - which denied that any negligence had resulted in the death - Zhang's family sought 1.52 million yuan (US$222,608) in compensation from the local government. The medical team was dispatched by a government-owned hospital.
The family also demanded that the feckless medical personnal involved be brought to justice. No one has been prosecuted so far.
The family's demand for financial compensation was only partially met. The government agreed to pay a maximum 200,000 yuan based on local standards. The family and the government have yet to settle on the compensation package.
As to penalizing those responsible, an official with the local health bureau said, "Zhang was resuscitated because of the bumpy bus ride," and added that doctors "don't have to bear any criminal responsibility" for not doing a thorough examination.
This statement, apart from raising many eyebrows, also has become the target of a popular spoof. The Hunan-based Changsha Evening News carried a commentary on Monday suggesting in jest that all newly deceased be put through this magic "bumpy ride medical procedure" and the dead may miraculously come back to life.
If it indeed works, why not nominate the innovative medical emergency team as a candidate for the Nobel Prize in Medicine?
Zhang's death highlighted an appalling void in professional ethics of some medical workers. A shock caused by the crash may have caused Zhang's heart to stop beating for a brief moment. A two-hour-late emergency medical team certainly contributed - and what caused that delay?
Starting resuscitation late and ending it prematurely surely are signs of callous disregard for human life.
Had the first aid staff exercised a little more humanity and care, would Zhang's death have been averted? Maybe.
Whether likely to be effective or not, resuscitation should always be attempted after a person is found technically dead by medical equipment.
Doctors who ignore this basic moral responsibility and even make a mockery of medicine by spinning a grotesque "bumpy ride revives dead person" theory are not worthy of the sacred job with which they are entrusted.
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