By Philip Iglauer
The Thai Embassy in Seoul took a step closer toward legal action against a general hospital in Seoul over the death of his wife while she was in the care of the medical facility.
In his capacity as the dean of the diplomatic community in Seoul, Ambassador Vitally Fen of Uzbekistan submitted a letter addressed to Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, in which he condemned Soonchunhyang University Hospital.
In the letter he described its treatment of Thitinart Satjipanon, the late wife of Thai Ambassador Chaiyong Satjipanon, as “an incident of remissness, malpractice and unprofessionalism.”
Fen said, “The great disadvantage of communication was faced by the spouse of the ambassador and it has been reported by other members of the diplomatic corps as well.”
The position of “dean of the diplomatic corps” is a ceremonial title extended to the foreign diplomat in Korea posted in-country the longest. The title does not carry with it legal power to represent all foreign diplomats in Korea.
Thitinart Satjipanon, wife of Thai Ambassador Chaiyong Satjipanon, died on Sep. 19 after being admitted to the hospital just days before complaining of acute abdominal pain.
The hospital said doctors conducted every necessary measure to save her. “The cause of death was septic shock and embolism,” the hospital said through a spokesperson at the time.
The embassy blames the hospital for improper emergency treatment while the hospital rules out any malpractice.
An official of the Thai Embassy said he cannot confirm a media report that Satjipanon has filed a lawsuit against the hospital.
However, Fen requested the government conduct an independent investigation into Thitinart Satjipanon’s death. “It appears that due to the negligence and delay of the hospital authorities, proper and timely medical aid was not provided to the patient causing her untimely death.”
Fen’s letter said the incident caused alarm among the foreign diplomatic community, saying it “has put into doubt the medical facilities provided at the hospitals in your country.”
“The diplomatic corps is of the view that the medical standards adopted at the international clinic at this hospital need to be reviewed and improved to make it more expat friendly and adhere to international standards.
There have been other such unfortunate incidents at this particular hospital which have resulted in wrong and undue treatments of patients from the diplomatic community,” the letter said.