The business of ＂bed dealers＂ in emergency rooms is booming, and the price is dozens of times higher than that in hospitals.
▲ Bed rented by vendors outside Tiantan Hospital, one day in 350 yuan. Wang Huixian/photo ▲ In the emergency hall of the Union Medical College Hospital, the family members of the patients each made a "fantastic move" to solve the bed problem. Zhang Jingshu/photo
A simple hospital bed costs 300 yuan a day. Rent it in 500 yuan once and return it directly to the capital.
Recently, some citizens reported to this newspaper that some people rented beds in the emergency room of Tiantan Hospital to make huge profits. These beds were full and parked on both sides of the corridor. According to the investigation by the Beijing Morning Post reporter, it is normal that there are more people and fewer beds in the emergency department of this hospital. The daily rent for hospital beds in 22 yuan is only 51. Some "bed dealers" took the opportunity to rent beds from their families at the price from 300 yuan to 500 yuan every day, and the business was booming, so they rented them once and returned directly. The Tiantan Hospital Service Office responded that it is difficult to distinguish between patients’ families and vendors, and it is difficult to supervise. In view of the fact that most people who rent beds outside the hospital operate without a license, the urban management department said that it would check and collect evidence on the spot.
Not enough beds.
Patients "sickbeds" are varied.
On the morning of June 28th, the reporter came to the emergency department building of Tiantan Hospital, and the patients and their families had packed the whole hall. The reporter asked if there was an empty bed to rent. The nurse on duty at the emergency registration desk said, "If there is no empty bed in the house, it will be gone." When asked if there were other ways to rent a bed, she replied, "Keep an eye on yourself. If someone drops out of bed, come and rent it."
In the emergency room 2, a lady with a bottle hanging on the floor was waiting to be transferred at 12 noon. She told reporters that there was no empty bed when she came the day before, and she could only sit on the ground until the next day.
According to the reporter’s rough statistics, there are about 27 beds in the observation room in the emergency area of Tiantan Hospital, 12 beds in the emergency room and more than 20 beds in the emergency infusion room. Looking around, none of them are empty. In addition, the reporter learned from the emergency registration office of Tiantan Hospital that there are currently more than 50 emergency beds in Tiantan Hospital, all of which have been rented out.
It is a common phenomenon that beds in emergency infusion room and observation room in large hospitals are tense. The reporter also found a similar situation in the emergency department of the East Hospital of Peking Union Medical College Hospital that beds are in short supply. The "beds" made of foam mats can be seen everywhere along the aisle of the emergency hall.
Private rental "bed"
The price is dozens of times higher than that of the hospital.
During the interview, the reporter learned that many beds brought into the hospital by patients’ families were rented from the emergency service desk of the hospital or from small vendors outside the hospital.
In Tiantan Hospital, the daily rent for each bed is 22 yuan, and the deposit is 200 yuan. In Tongren Hospital, the price of renting a bed in this hospital is five yuan per hour, and the deposit is 700 yuan. There is no such rental service in the emergency area of Union Medical College Hospital. Even if the hospital has beds to rent, it is in short supply, so outside the hospital, vendors who provide bed rental services shout out high prices.
Outside the emergency room of Tiantan Hospital, a man with glasses in the overalls of medical staff told reporters, "You can rent a bed outside, 350 yuan a day, private." Then he waved to a middle-aged man in gray, pointed to the reporter and said to him, "This one wants to rent a bed".
Subsequently, the reporter followed the man in gray to the opposite side of the hospital gate, and saw several iron beds painted with white paint on the sidewalk every few meters, with guardrails on both sides and wheels at the bottom. The man said that if these beds are rented, they can be promoted to the hospital. "The rent is 350, and the deposit is 500, and they will be returned at 8 am the next day."
Similarly, the high-priced bed rental point of Union Medical College Hospital is also near the emergency building. Out of the south gate of the hospital, behind a cart, there are several metal beds with wheels covered with disposable medical sheets. A man introduced the rent to the reporter, "500 yuan every 12 hours, and 12 hours for an hour." The deposit is 500, and there are receipts. Don’t worry, we can’t run, we are here all the year round. "
The reporter consulted in some medical supplies stores and shopping websites and learned that the price of ordinary medical beds with wheels ranges from 200 yuan to 1,000 yuan, while the price from 300 yuan to 500 yuan is rented out in private hands one day.
Many families of patients who rent beds told reporters that even if they are expensive, they have to rent them. "Here (the leg) is screaming with pain. Can it be done without a bed?" A family member of a patient with two leg fractures said. Another patient’s family told reporters, "Even if people run away with the deposit, there is nothing to do."
Take-out beds can be taken to the hospital.
There are difficulties in supervision
Can a bed with its own rent be unimpeded in the hospital? A security guard in the outpatient department of Tiantan Hospital said that as long as there are medical procedures, whether it is a wheeled bed rented outside the hospital or a folding bed bought by oneself, it can be used in the hospital, but it is necessary to simply register the patient information. The security guard of the Union Medical College Hospital pointed to the wheeled bed rented by patients from outside in the hall and said, "This way, you can come in, whether it is rented or bought."
The staff of the Tiantan Hospital Service Office told the reporter, "There are too many people coming and going in the hospital. It is not good to ask whether people are family members of patients or come to do business. It is difficult to supervise."
In view of the price problem of renting beds outside the hospital, the reporter called the price supervision and reporting hotline, and the other party said that operators can set the price independently, not by government departments. In view of the fact that the bed rental businesses near Tiantan Hospital and Union Medical College Hospital are all mobile vendors, the reporter called the Beijing Urban Management Hotline and the staff said that they would verify the situation on the spot.
Beijing Morning Post Live News
Reporter Zhang Jingshu
Intern Wang Huixian