Authorities in Seoul have launched an investigation into a nursing hospital after a patient’s severed toe was reportedly discovered inside a refrigerator in the facility’s kitchen in South Korea.
According to a KBS report released Wednesday, the toe had been placed in a disposable porridge container and stored in the refrigerator for roughly two weeks.
It was kept alongside beverages and condiments before the patient’s family discovered it during a visit.
The severed toe reportedly belonged to a man in his 60s with an intellectual disability who had been residing at the hospital for about 10 years.
The family said they were informed in March that one of the man’s toes had become detached. When they contacted the hospital for an explanation, staff reportedly said he had fallen while being transferred in a wheelchair for a bath. The hospital explained that the toe, which had already been affected by skin necrosis, had come off as a result of the incident.
However, the family said they had never been told that the patient had developed a foot ulcer. The condition had reportedly been recorded in the hospital’s nursing records since December.
Under South Korea’s Waste Control Act, medical waste must be stored in designated containers. The storage of human tissue in a refrigerator containing food or other consumable items could also raise concerns under food sanitation regulations.
The hospital said it had no appropriate container available for the toe and claimed that a nurse placed it in the refrigerator as an emergency measure to deal with the situation.
After the report emerged, the Health Ministry said it would request that the local government carry out an administrative investigation into the hospital.
