October 22- The NHRCK concluded that dispatching an ambulance with only one emergency service worker is a violation of human rights.
Mr. Nam filed a complaint to the NHRCK on July 2008 saying, “An ambulance was dispatched without any emergency service worker except for a driver. My brother-in-law, who had a heart-attack, got brain damage on the way to a hospital because there was no proper emergency care.”
Article 48 and Article 39 of the Emergency Medical Service Act stipulates that two people including one licensed medical rescuer shall be on board when ambulances go into action. Not providing the proper emergency medical care because of insufficient emergency service staff on an ambulance is a violation of the right to life and the right to health, which is stipulated in Article 10 and Article 12 of the Constitution, and Article 12, Paragraph 1 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. It is also a failure of the state’s obligation to protect the health of all citizens, which is stipulated in Article 34, Paragraph 6 and Article 36, Paragraph 3 of the Constitution.
Regarding this, the NHRCK issued recommendations, calling on △ the Chief of Cheonju Dongbu Fire Station to prepare a preventive measure to avoid a reoccurrence, by investigating the operation status of its governing fire stations and reporting the result to the competent authorities, △ the Governor of the North Chungcheong Province to provide necessary budget and human resources to be able to conduct the above recommendation, △ and the Administrator of the National Emergency Management Agency to investigate the status of compliance of Article 48 and Article 39 of the Emergency Medical Service Act, and prepare a preventive measure to avoid a reoccurrence.
