Fifth Vital [EN]: Chapter 358

Fifth Vital- Episode 359

Episode 359. Precautions

“No. It’s a prison.”

At the word ‘prison,’ the staff, who had been engrossed in lottery tickets, all turned to look at Nurse Im Jeong-suk.

“A prison?”

“Yes, they said it’s Yeonson Prison.”

“……!”

The words ‘Yeonson Prison’ reminded Tae-kyung of Lee Ji-guk, the prison doctor who had come in for a laceration under his eye not long ago. He recalled what Lee had said after finishing his treatment.

‘Doctor, I apologize for being rude, but could I ask you a favor?’

‘Of course. What is it?’

‘When treating inmates at the prison, there are times when it’s difficult to provide proper care inside. I was wondering if you could possibly see the inmates in such cases?’

‘Yes, I can.’

Some infirmaries inside prisons were well-equipped, while others were not. But even with well-equipped facilities, there were times when it was difficult to treat inmates depending on their condition.

Tae-kyung knew this, so he didn’t want to refuse Lee Ji-guk’s difficult request.

Also, when he first decided to take over the hospital, he knew there was a prison nearby and thought that inmate patients might come someday.

Therefore, Lee Ji-guk’s request was neither embarrassing nor uncomfortable.

“Hello, this is Kim Tae-kyung.”

Tae-kyung, who had entered the reception office, said as he picked up the receiver, and Lee Ji-guk’s voice immediately followed.

-Doctor, this is Lee Ji-guk from Yeonson Prison.

“Yes, Doctor. What is it? Is it about a patient?”

-Yes, that’s right. One of our inmates was assaulted by other inmates.

“Where are the external injuries right now?”

-Actually, he has bruises all over his body and lacerations, but he can’t walk and is complaining of severe pain.

Lee Ji-guk continued, sounding quite apologetic.

-Currently, the medical equipment in the prison is not sufficient, so I’m asking for some cooperation and considering transferring him to your hospital. Would that be okay?

“Yes, come anytime. I’ll see the patient.”

-Thank you so much. Then we’ll leave as soon as we’re ready.

“By the way, is the inmate currently conscious?”

-Yes, he can communicate.

“Okay. Then please hurry and come, and let me know any basic information about the patient, such as any past illnesses.”

-Yes, I’ll bring all the personal information. Doctor, this inmate is well-behaved and a model prisoner. Please take good care of him.

“We’ll do our best.”

Lee Ji-guk finished the call and handed the receiver to the prison guard next to him.

-Hello, I’m a prison guard. I’m calling because there are a few things I need to let you know.

“Yes, go ahead.”

The prison guard quickly relayed information about inmate number 1137 as a matter of urgency.

“Okay. I’ll pay special attention to it.”

Tae-kyung hung up the phone with the prison guard and immediately called Nurse Im Jeong-suk, Team Leader Choi, and even Lee Chan-hee to the office.

Lee Chan-hee, who had become serious at the word ‘prison,’ seemed to have already forgotten whether his lottery ticket in his gown pocket had won or not.

“Director, the prison is calling… Did something happen inside?”

“Is it a patient transfer?”

Nurse Im Jeong-suk and Team Leader Choi asked one after another, unable to contain their curiosity.

“Yes, it’s a patient transfer. There was an assault among inmates at Yeonson Prison nearby.”

“Oh my! Goodness.”

“That’s why prisons are so scary.”

“The doctor in charge of the infirmary contacted us directly and asked for help with the patient. So, the patient will be transferred soon.”

“But, Director, what kind of inmate is the patient…?”

Lee Chan-hee asked cautiously.

“I was just about to talk about that. He’s a long-term prisoner, and he’s well-behaved and a model prisoner in the prison. The guards and even the inmates like him.”

“Really? That’s a relief.”

“I know, right? When I heard that a patient was coming from the prison, I was a little nervous about whether he would be a scary person.”

“Since he’s a model prisoner and everyone likes him, he’s not a serious criminal, right?”

“Well… his crime is murder. He brutally murdered someone with a knife.”

At the word ‘murder,’ the expressions of the three people hardened instantly.

Even for those who had spent a long time in the hospital, this was a completely different matter.

They had encountered many people, including those who were called human trash. That’s why the staff at our hospital were confident in dealing with any type of patient.

But a murderer was a completely different type of person, and they couldn’t help but be nervous.

“M, Murder?”

“Director, are you saying that the inmate coming to our hospital is a murderer?”

“Yes, that’s right. He’s coming to the hospital as a patient, and the medical staff also sees him as a patient, but we still need to be careful. He may be a model prisoner now, but he came to prison as a violent criminal. There are inpatients and guardians in the ward, and some of them are children. Listen carefully to what I’m about to say.”

Tae-kyung gave each of the three people precautions and instructions to inform the hospital staff.

“First, tell Doctor Lee to go straight to the emergency room and prepare for intubation [inserting a tube into the trachea to assist breathing] and vasopressors [medications that raise blood pressure] so that he can treat him immediately if his vitals become unstable. He said he’s conscious, but it’s better to be prepared just in case. And immediately take a full-body CT scan to assess the extent of the injuries, and have him on standby in case he needs surgery. Tell everyone to be careful with their words and actions so that the patients don’t get scared.”

“Yes, Doctor. I understand.”

Lee Chan-hee, having heard the orders, headed straight to the emergency room.

“Team Leader Choi, please pay special attention to security with Agent Jang. The prison guards will be accompanying him, but please deploy Agent Jang to the emergency room area when the patient arrives.”

“Yes, Director.”

“Nurse Im, please inform the nurses in charge of the ward and, again, be careful not to let the patients know. And unless there’s a special reason, don’t let the patients leave the ward today, and come to the emergency room after you’re done.”

“Yes, Director. I understand.”

After the two left the office, Tae-kyung also headed to the emergency room. And a little later, all the staff in our hospital became aware of the existence of inmate number 1137.

“A murderer!”

One of the ward nurses, who was being informed by Nurse Im Jeong-suk, asked back with a strained voice without realizing it.

“Lower your voice.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I was so surprised that I unconsciously raised my voice.”

“Soo-ssam [term of endearment for a senior nurse], are you saying that a m, murderer from the prison is coming to our hospital?”

“Yes. But don’t keep saying that word.”

“Aren’t you guys too nervous?”

The youngest nurse said, looking at her frozen seniors.

“Aren’t you scared?”

“No. Even if he’s a criminal, he’s currently serving time in prison, and the prison guards are coming with him, so I don’t think we need to be that scared.”

“Oh? Don’t say things you don’t know. Haven’t you seen the movies? When those people get out of prison, there’s always a problem and people die…”

“That’s enough nonsense.”

Nurse Im Jeong-suk stopped the nurses’ conversation, which was turning into a strange atmosphere.

“Everyone, stop it. As I said before, take good care of the patients and don’t let them leave the ward. Above all, always be careful what you say and don’t just talk when the patients aren’t around. Got it?”

“Yes, Soo-ssam.”

“And has anyone seen Doctor Oh? I’ve been calling him, but he’s not answering the phone for some reason.”

Nurse Im Jeong-suk was looking for Oh Chang-gyu, a male employee who had joined a month ago.

She thought she might need a strong male medical staff member, so she was trying to call him to the emergency room.

“He’s never done this before, and he’s still not answering. I need to go down to the emergency room…”

“I think I saw Doctor Oh over there earlier. Should I go look for him?”

“I’d appreciate it if you would.”

“Then I’ll find him and tell him to go to the emergency room.”

“Okay. Thank you.”

Nurse Im Jeong-suk moved to the emergency room, and the junior nurse went to look for Oh Chang-gyu. But the nurse couldn’t find him.

“That’s strange. I definitely saw him going that way earlier…”

She searched not only the ward she was in charge of but also all the other wards, but Oh Chang-gyu was nowhere to be seen.

“Soo-ssam, it’s me. I kept looking, but I can’t find Doctor Oh.”

-Okay. Thanks for your trouble.

She called Nurse Im Jeong-suk and told her that he wasn’t in the ward.

“That’s strange. Did he leave early?”

“Who? Are you talking about Doctor Oh?”

When Doctor Eui-jin, who was coming out of a patient’s room, asked, the nurse carefully said, covering her mouth with one hand.

“Yes. Everyone is nervous about the prison transfer patient right now. So, Doctor Oh needs to be on standby in the emergency room, but he’s not answering calls and he’s nowhere to be seen.”

“I’m going down there anyway, so I’ll look for him on my way down. Thanks for your hard work.”

“Yes. Thank you too, Doctor.”

Shortly after, Doctor Eui-jin was able to find Oh Chang-gyu by chance.

“Oh!”

While passing through the hallway, she stopped at the familiar silhouette and turned back to take a closer look, and it was Oh Chang-gyu.

“There he is? Doctor Oh?”

“……!”

Oh Chang-gyu, who was wandering around the hallway, flinched at Doctor Eui-jin’s voice and turned his head.

“Doctor Jung.”

“What are you doing here? I’ve been looking for you… Oh!”

Something slightly lifted on one side caught Doctor Eui-jin’s eye as she was talking to Oh Chang-gyu.

“Why is that like that? Doctor Oh, doesn’t that look strange?”

“It does. It looks like the facilities department is doing some construction.”

“Are they replacing it? I need to tell them to fix it quickly.”

“Doctor, I have to go to the facilities department later, so I’ll tell them.”

“Okay. Anyway, Soo-ssam has been looking for Doctor Oh. Where have you been? She said she called you several times.”

“I’m sorry, Doctor.”

“Is something wrong?”

When Doctor Eui-jin turned her head at the gloomy answer, Oh Chang-gyu’s expression didn’t look good for some reason.

It had only been a little over a month since he became a member of our hospital, but Oh Chang-gyu had never been like this before, so she wondered what was wrong. And this was the same for Nurse Im Jeong-suk.

Nurse Im was also worried when the nurse said that she couldn’t reach him and couldn’t find him.

The reason was that Oh Chang-gyu was not only well-behaved but also very diligent in the hospital.

“Doctor Oh, you don’t look good. Is something wrong?”

“Actually, I’m not feeling well, Doctor.”

“Really? How bad are you feeling?”

Doctor Eui-jin asked with a genuinely worried tone when he said he wasn’t feeling well.

“I had diarrhea all night after work yesterday, but I felt a little better, so I just came to work. But I’ve been having signals [feeling the urge to use the restroom] since earlier, so I’ve been in the bathroom and just came out. I kept getting calls, but I couldn’t answer them.”

“So that’s why I couldn’t reach you. Are you feeling better? Do you have hypotension [low blood pressure]?”

“I think my blood pressure is okay.”

“It looks like gastroenteritis [inflammation of the stomach and intestines].”

“Yes.”

“Don’t do that, get an IV and take ciprofloxacin (an empirical antibiotic taken for bacterial gastroenteritis) preventatively.”

“Yes, Doctor. Thank you.”

“But Doctor Oh, can you work right now?”

“Yes, I feel better after throwing up.”

“That’s a relief. The hospital is in a state of emergency right now, so I think I need to go to the emergency room quickly.”

“Has the patient already arrived?”

Oh Chang-gyu, who was listening to Doctor Eui-jin’s words, asked with a calm expression as if nothing was wrong.