Minister of Health and Welfare Chiang Been-huang (蔣丙煌) yesterday announced a government plan to sign emergency medical service agreements with as many countries as possible, but downplayed controversy over reports that it refused to accept overseas medical assistance following the Formosa Fun Coast (八仙海岸) fire on June 27.
Chiang made the remarks at a news conference held to announce the latest development of the incident, during which he said the plan was meant to ensure sufficient medical resources in the event of a larger casualty count in a future catastrophe.
“The signing of agreements will allow foreign medical teams to jump in immediately after a tragedy without any legal hiccups,” Chiang said. “It would also allow Taiwan to lend a helping hand to countries stricken by catastrophes.”
Photo: CNA
However, Chiang gave an ambiguous response when pressed on rumors that the ministry had turned down foreign medical aid to treat people affected by the blasts and ensuing fire in New Taipei City’s Bali District (八里) last weekend due to legal concerns.
“I have to emphasize how much we appreciate and welcome some foreign countries’ proposals to send their medical specialists to Taiwan to help treat the large number of people,” Chiang said.
However, he said the assistance foreign medical personnel offer must conform to the nation’s laws, adding that the number of Taiwanese physicians trained to handle burns was enough to treat the nearly 500 patients.
On Friday, Chiang said the Physicians Act (醫師法) bans foreigners from practicing in Taiwan, incurring criticism over the ministry’s “rigid” adherence to the rules when people badly need care and hospitals face personnel shortages.
Chiang made the remarks after offers of help from Japan and the US.
Japan’s Association of Medical Doctors of Asia president Shigeru Suganami and Japanese Society of Intensive Care Medicine president Yoshihito Ujike on Thursday offered to send 10 doctors and 40 paramedics to Taiwan to assist in treatment of the burns patients.
Taipei’s representative office in Washington on Friday said that the American Burn Association and the burn unit at Johns Hopkins Hospital both offered to provide medical supplies, equipment and personnel.
Under the rules, foreign physicians can only play supportive roles in treatments by providing guidance, getting medical materials ready or providing consultations about treatment plans, rather than be directly involved in treating patients, Department of Medical Affairs director Wang Tsung-hsi (王宗曦) said on Friday.
Executive Yuan spokesperson Sun Lih-chyun (孫立群) said it was up to the ministry to decide whether to suggest that President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) put forward an emergency decree to temporarily suspend the rules.
Taiwan Medical Association chairman Su Ching-chuan (蘇清泉) said earlier yesterday that the association was to sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for medical service cooperation with its Japanese counterpart soon and that Japan’s medical teams could arrive in Taiwan on Thursday next week at the earliest, if all went well.
“We and our Japanese counterparts had already scheduled to sign the MOU on July 30 after years of negotiations. In light of the blast, we have decided to bring forward the signing of the document,” Su said.
Separately yesterday, Taiwan Medical Association secretary-general Tsai Ming-chung (蔡明忠) said that in the upcoming weeks, the nation would likely see a wave of deaths among critically injured people affected by the blast.
“The public must understand that patients with severe burns or inhalation injuries are highly prone to death. Despite extensive care, it is inevitable that those who are severely injured are to enter a ‘peak period for deaths’ soon,” Tsai said after visiting patients at Taichung Veterans General Hospital.
Tsai said he was not being a “jinx,” stressing that whole-body infections usually occurred after the second week of serious burn cases and that only patients who made it through the first month could be considered stable.
According to the ministry, the number of people in critical conditions increased from 211 on Friday to 230 yesterday.
CHAOS: Iranians took to the streets playing celebratory music after reports of Khamenei’s death on Saturday, while mourners also gathered in Tehran yesterday Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in a major attack on Iran launched by Israel and the US, throwing the future of the Islamic republic into doubt and raising the risk of regional instability. Iranian state television and the state-run IRNA news agency announced the 86-year-old’s death early yesterday. US President Donald Trump said it gave Iranians their “greatest chance” to “take back” their country. The announcements came after a joint US and Israeli aerial bombardment that targeted Iranian military and governmental sites. Trump said the “heavy and pinpoint bombing” would continue through the week or as long
An Emirates flight from Dubai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport yesterday afternoon, the first service of the airline since the US and Israel launched strikes against Iran on Saturday. Flight EK366 took off from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at 3:51am yesterday and landed at 4:02pm before taxiing to the airport’s D6 gate at Terminal 2 at 4:08pm, data from the airport and FlightAware, a global flight tracking site, showed. Of the 501 passengers on the flight, 275 were Taiwanese, including 96 group tour travelers, the data showed. Tourism Administration Deputy Director-General Huang He-ting (黃荷婷) greeted Taiwanese passengers at the airport and
State-run CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) yesterday said that it had confirmed on Saturday night with its liquefied natural gas (LNG) and crude oil suppliers that shipments are proceeding as scheduled and that domestic supplies remain unaffected. The CPC yesterday announced the gasoline and diesel prices will rise by NT$0.2 and NT$0.4 per liter, respectively, starting Monday, citing Middle East tensions and blizzards in the eastern United States. CPC also iterated it has been reducing the proportion of crude oil imports from the Middle East and diversifying its supply sources in the past few years in response to geopolitical risks, expanding
STRAIT OF HORMUZ: In the case of a prolonged blockade by Iran, Taiwan would look to sources of LNG outside the Middle East, including Australia and the US Taiwan would not have to ration power due to a shortage of natural gas, Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) said yesterday, after reports that the Strait of Hormuz was closed amid the conflict in the Middle East. The government has secured liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies for this month and contingency measures are in place if the conflict extends into next month, Kung told lawmakers. Saying that 25 percent of Taiwan’s natural gas supplies are from Qatar, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) asked about the situation in light of the conflict. There would be “no problems” with
RSS