The number of ambulance dispatches in Tokyo in January-July grew 4.4 pct from a year before to 542,256, highest for the seven-month period since the statistics began in 1936, according to the Tokyo Fire Department. The result is attributable mainly to an increase in people suffering from heatstroke.
Four public hospitals in the earthquake-hit Okunoto area in central Japan ran a combined loss of over 1.2 billion yen in fiscal 2023, it was learned Tuesday. The Okunoto area, which is the northern point of the Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture, was hit especially hard by the 7.6-magnitude quake that shook the peninsula Jan. 1.
The Japan Fair Trade Commission on Tuesday conducted an on-site inspection of medical equipment maker Sysmex Corp. in the western Japan city of Kobe on suspicion of illegal tie-in sales of hemostasis analyzers and test reagents. The company allegedly urged hospitals and other customers to use only its test reagents whey they purchased its hemostasis analyzers, while suggesting that it would not sell the products if the customers refused to use the reagents.
At Nihonkai General Hospital in the city of Sakata, Yamagata Prefecture, Kishida inspected reception work for which the number of staff was reduced through the use of My Number social security and taxation identification cards integrated with health insurance certificates.
The president of National Hospital Organization Omuta National Hospital apologized on May 2 after confirming that male employees sexually abused patients who have severe mental and physical disabilities. The hospital has not taken any administrative action against the five employees who are suspected of abuse. The employees abused patients by stimulating their pubic areas while they were sleeping or being assisted in the bath, and touching female patients’ breasts.
The president of National Hospital Organization Omuta National Hospital apologized on May 2 after confirming that male employees sexually abused patients who have severe mental and physical disabilities.
The hospital has not taken any administrative action against the five employees who are suspected of abuse.
The employees abused patients by stimulating their pubic areas while they were sleeping or being assisted in the bath, and touching female patients’ breasts.
About 40 percent of Japanese medical institutions accepting hospitalizations of children ask family members to stay around the clock with them in certain circumstances, a government survey showed Friday 12th April. According to the results of the survey released by the Children and Families Agency, over 60 pct of surveyed institutions have family caregivers stay with hospitalized children in at least 75 pct of cases.
There were 7,637,967 ambulance dispatches in Japan in 2023, the highest figure since comparable data became available in 1963, the Fire and Disaster Management Agency said in a preliminary report Friday. From the previous year, ambulance dispatches increased 5.6 pct. The agency also said a record 6,639,959 people, up 6.8 pct, were transported by ambulance. Of them, probable sufferers of acute illnesses, such as COVID-19, accounted for 67.7 pct, far exceeding those inflicted “general” injuries, at 15.9 pct, and those involved in traffic accidents, at 5.4 pct.
A Japanese government advisory panel Wednesday proposed hikes in hospital visit fees paid by outpatients for their initial and follow-up medical examinations, in order to increase salaries of health care workers.
For the year starting in April, Japan will revise fees for the three care-related services covered by public insurance–the medical and elderly care services and the welfare service for people with disabilities–together for the first time in six years.
Many hospitals in Japan have experienced difficulties dealing with cancer patients with dementia, a survey by the Japan Cancer Society showed Saturday.
The survey was carried out in April-June 2023 for 451 hospitals designated by the health minister to provide high-quality treatment to cancer patients, with 256 of them, or 57 pct, giving responses.
Barrier Free Japan