(Ecns.cn) –Physicians fled after a fire broke out during surgery at the Shanghai No.3 People's Hospital on August 24, leaving a man on the operating table. The patient later died of smoke inhalation.
The doctors have been criticized for abandoning the patient to save themselves.
Because he was in charge of fire protection, the hospital's vice president, Chen Aidong, was removed from his post, while Fang Yong, president of the hospital, received an administrative warning.
Unexpected calamity
Zhu Huiming, 48, was manager of a hardware tool factory in Shanghai. He was smart, hard working, and had an admirable career in the hardware industry. As a well-known expert, Zhu had done work for many factories, some of which had tried to lure him away with high salaries.
On the afternoon of August 24, Zhu's career was brought to an abrupt halt when was seriously injured by a truck carrying earth and rocks. He was immediately sent to the Shanghai No.3 People's Hospital, still conscious and capable of waving his hands.
At 7:30 p.m., Zhu's family was told that his leg should be amputated as soon as possible to save his life, a procedure which should have taken about two hours. Zhu's family was saddened by the news, but also grateful that Zhu might survive. However, no one could have foreseen that their hopes would soon be lost forever.
Fire breaks out
Smoke started drifting in to the room while Zhu was under anesthetic, and a nurse was sent to investigate. She discovered that a machine in another room had caught fire. After trying in vain to douse the flames, she reported the situation and went back to carry on with the operation.
At that time, there were six staff members in the room: two doctors, two nurses and two anesthetists.
As thick black smoke began to engulf the room, an anesthetist left to call for help, but wasn't able to return because of the smoke.
The two doctors stayed in the operating room and tried to close the patient's incision. They were the last to leave, and had to crawl on the floor to find enough air. They decided to abandon the patient, determining that because he was on a respiratory machine, he could be left alone in safety for about 30 minutes.
Nevertheless, he died of smoke inhalation not long after.
The doctors later revealed that they had tried to get back to the room to save Zhu, but firefighters prevented them from doing so.
