Shenzhen Private Hospital’s Ambulance Allegedly Disobeys Instructions from 120 Emergency Center, Resulting in Delayed Treatment and Death
In a tragic incident that occurred in August last year, a private ambulance from the Jian’an Hospital in Shenzhen was accused of violating dispatch instructions by transferring a critically ill patient to their own hospital instead of the designated public hospital, leading to a fatal delay in treatment for nearly 8 hours.
According to a post by a netizen named “Copper Pea,” the incident involved the transportation of the mother to the Jian’an Hospital instead of the Longhua District People’s Hospital, where she should have been taken for emergency treatment. The delay in providing the necessary medical care eventually led to the mother’s untimely death.
The incident, which took place in August last year, was only recently exposed by the victim’s family.
On the evening of April 8, the Shenzhen Health Commission issued a notification stating that the Jian’an Hospital in Shenzhen failed to follow the 120 dispatch instructions to transfer the patient to the designated hospital, thereby violating relevant regulations. As a result, the hospital faced an administrative penalty of a fine of 76,000 yuan and was ordered to suspend pre-hospital emergency medical services for six months starting from March 18, 2026.
This incident has sparked widespread public attention and criticism. Many internet users questioned why the notification was only issued now and felt that the punishment imposed on the implicated hospital was too lenient.
For example, user “GreedySleep” commented, “To the hospital, critically ill patients are just money-making machines.”
User “HeyNoEatNoEat” criticized, “Putting profits above lives, and they only get fined 76,000 yuan?”
User “XiaoLai_R” expressed disbelief, stating, “They treat life so lightly, just a fine of 76,000 yuan!”
User “SpringGoat” condemned the actions, saying, “This is a crime!”
The incident took place on August 5, 2025, at 12:23 AM when Ms. Zhang suddenly experienced severe abdominal pain. Her family immediately called 120 for emergency assistance. The dispatch record indicated that the ambulance station was at Jian’an Xinjaian and the recommended receiving hospital was the Longhua District People’s Hospital in Shenzhen. Jian’an Xinjaian is a subsidiary of the Jian’an Hospital, which began operations on November 20, 2020.
Ms. Zhang’s daughter explained that when the emergency staff from the Jian’an Hospital arrived at the scene, they disregarded the dispatch instructions from the emergency center and took the patient to the Jian’an Hospital instead of the designated public hospital.
“Our home is only 2.8 kilometers away from the Longhua District People’s Hospital, while the Jian’an Hospital is 3.8 kilometers away. In terms of distance and travel time, the district-level public hospital is closer, which is why 120 directed my mother there,” said Ms. Zhang’s daughter, emphasizing that during the incident, she was studying in another city, and it was her father who called the ambulance. The family explicitly expressed their intention to seek treatment at the Longhua District People’s Hospital.
Ms. Zhang’s daughter firmly believed that “the ambulance from Jian’an Hospital violated the rules and forcefully took my mother away.”
According to the medical records, at 12:53 AM on that day, Ms. Zhang was admitted to the emergency room of Jian’an Hospital, showing signs of clear consciousness, pallor, and tenderness in the upper abdomen. By 1:33 AM, a CT scan revealed “a large amount of intra-abdominal hemorrhage with a high probability of a ruptured blood vessel,” and Ms. Zhang had developed symptoms of shock.
Recalling the events, the family members mentioned that despite their repeated insistence, it took nearly 8 hours before the patient was finally transferred to the Longhua District People’s Hospital in Shenzhen. The medical records from the hospital showed that when the patient arrived at around 9 AM that day, she was already in a critical condition with symptoms of “abdominal pain for 10 hours, coma, loss of consciousness, and dilated pupils on both sides.” She was diagnosed with hemorrhagic shock, severe anemia, splenic artery rupture with bleeding, splenic hematoma, acute kidney injury, electrolyte disturbances, and 13 other medical conditions.
Due to the critical condition, the hospital immediately issued a critically ill notification and placed the patient under intensive care. At 10:21 AM that day, doctors from the Interventional Department of Longhua District People’s Hospital in Shenzhen performed a half-hour embolization surgery for Ms. Zhang’s ruptured aneurysm. Post-surgery, the patient was transferred to the Intensive Care Unit. The medical records indicated that Ms. Zhang developed disseminated intravascular coagulation and severe circulatory and respiratory failure that could not be reversed.
At 4:59 PM on the same day, Ms. Zhang’s heart suddenly stopped beating. She was pronounced dead at 5:42 PM after unsuccessful resuscitation attempts.
The family members of Ms. Zhang expressed their grievances, stating that on that early morning, Jian’an Hospital in Shenzhen intervened in providing medical treatment without the necessary capabilities and unilaterally canceled the transfer arrangement without informing the family. “We have consulted a lawyer, and relevant medical personnel are suspected of committing medical malpractice. A report has been filed, but the case has not been formally registered.”