Recent days, a 51-year-old man in Wuhan, Hubei Province fell ill in a hotel and asked a friend to bring him medication. Unfortunately, the life-saving medicine was delayed at the front desk for 5 hours, leading to the man’s untimely death. The incident has sparked public attention.
According to reports from Fengmian News, Lao Hu, who manages land in his hometown in Xinzhou, Wuhan, and runs an agricultural cooperative. On November 19, after finishing his business in the Yangluo Economic Development Zone, he was taken to the nearby Yaste Hotel by his friend Han Shun (pseudonym). On the morning of the 20th, he suddenly felt discomfort in his heart and called Han Shun to bring him medicine.
Within 20 minutes, Han Shun arrived at the hotel front desk with the medicine, but he was not allowed to go upstairs as he did not know Lao Hu’s full name.
Han Shun explained that he had known Lao Hu since their youth, but they had not seen each other for many years, and he did not know his full name. He only knew that their friends called him “Boss Gua.”
“The medicine was stored in another friend’s refrigerator, he had already arranged for me to pick it up. It’s just that simple,” Han Shun said. Lao Hu did not specify his illness or the medication needed. The medicine was in a plastic bag, and Han Shun did not check it. He took the medicine directly to the hotel.
At that time, Lao Hu did not answer his phone, so Han Shun sought help from the front desk, requesting them to deliver the medicine to the room after checking the information. The front desk replied that they were not obligated to deliver the medicine and suggested that he contact the guest himself. Han Shun made five or six calls, but no one answered. With other urgent matters to attend to, he had no choice but to leave the medicine at the hotel front desk and then leave a message for Lao Hu on WeChat before departing.
Lao Hu’s family stated that upon reviewing the front desk surveillance footage, it was discovered that the medicine was left at the front desk for over 5 hours without any investigation by the staff. It was not until 3 p.m. that day, when the hotel cleaning staff was tidying up the rooms, that they found Lao Hu lying dead on the room floor. The forensic pathologist concluded that he died of a sudden illness, sometime between 12 p.m. and 2 p.m.
The photos provided by the family showed that the medicine left at the front desk was for treating angina, high blood pressure, and diabetes.
The family believes that the hotel staff, upon finding out that the guest’s phone was not being answered and failing to promptly investigate and act, delayed life-saving measures and should be held accountable. However, the hotel management remains firm, only willing to offer a humanitarian compensation of 20,000 yuan.
On the 24th, the Yaste Hotel staff responded to “Urban Scene,” stating that the front desk could indeed access guest information, but as the guest was a VIP member of the hotel with a checkout time of 3 p.m., there was no disturbance at noon to inquire about the situation. “The person delivering the medicine didn’t mention it was urgent, so we didn’t realize it was an emergency situation.”
The staff denied saying they had “no obligation to deliver the medicine,” stating that the hotel “will not evade responsibility and is actively handling the matter.”
This incident has garnered attention online, with netizens expressing their views. Some have commented, “Was the medicine left unattended at the hotel front desk for so long?” “Even if it’s not medicine but food delivery, if left at the front desk, the staff should be obligated to inform the guest.” “The hotel, friends, if any party had called emergency services, this issue could have been resolved.”