25 Hospitals Turn Man Down In Japan, 75-Year Old Dies After Two Hours in Critical Condition

A 75-year-old Japanese man died after being rejected from 25 hospitals 36 times within two hours due to a lack of space and resources.

The man, who lived alone in a city north of Tokyo, called for an ambulance after suffering breathing problems at his home in January. Paramedics rushed to his house and provided him with assistance, however they could not get him to a hospital in time to save his life as all 25 hospitals lacked a sufficient amount of doctors or free beds, reported a local city official.

Eventually the emergency service drove the man to a hospital in another region 20 minutes away where he was pronounced dead shortly upon arrival.

According to Jiji Press, one of the paramedics who tried to get the man to a hospital said that he never witnessed a a patient "rejected so many times" from a medical clinic.

As a result of the incident, the city of Kuki has ordered hospitals to increase their emergency room capabilities to prevent a tragedy like this from reoccurring.

Though the cause of his death has not been announced, the incident has caused public outrage in Japan and put a spotlight on the country's growing population, which is living longer without a proper health care system or infrastructure to care for its citizens. Some analysts have warned that Japan's high quality health care, which is heavily subsidized, will be put under scrutiny if the problem is not fixed.  In addition, there's a dearth of young people entering the workforce which could result in a dearth of health care workers.