Some have voiced concern that hospitals worried about accountability would stop taking in dementia patients
A hospital in Japan is facing a negligence lawsuit after an elderly patient was discovered to have swallowed a key in the ward and later died, sparking worries about dementia care in the rapidly ageing country.
Kenichi Onishi, 82, was admitted to the Osaka hospital in January 2022 after breaking his chest bone in a fall. A few months later, in September, he complained about throat pain and was diagnosed with Covid-19.
A chest X-ray, however, showed a large shadow in his throat, which was later identified as a 12cm (4.7 inch) key with a keychain attached.
“At first, I imagined it was a small key that he accidentally swallowed,” his 55-year-old son said, according to a Yomiuri TV broadcast on Wednesday. “But when I saw it, I was shocked. It was heavy and oddly shaped, and I could only think how much my father must have suffered.”
