‘NOT EQUIPPED’:The cancer center said it did not have trauma staff or a cardiology department, but critics said it was making excuses and had turned its back on victims

Taipei Times
Date: Jul 01, 2015
By: Stacy Hsu  /  Staff reporter

Koo Foundation Sun Yat-sen Cancer Center superintendent Andrew Huang (黃達夫) yesterday dismissed mounting criticism over the hospital’s refusal to admit victims of the Formosa Fun Coast (八仙海岸) blast on Saturday, saying the center is a cancer facility, and does not have a burn unit.

“As Taiwan’s first hospital specializing in cancer treatment, the center operates differently from most general hospitals. We are not equipped with cardiology and cardiovascular surgery departments, or the equipment and staff to treat trauma,” Huang said in an open letter published on Chinese-language news Web site ETtoday.

Due to a patient’s right to receive prompt medical care, Huang said the center finds it unacceptable when a patient is sent to a hospital not outfitted to deal with emergencies, as treatment is inevitably delayed so that the patient can be transferred to another medical institution with the required equipment and specialists.     [FULL  STORY]