Looking for a place to sleep it off? Try the hospital.
Posted by Matt Dioguardi on October 11th, 2007
An association of secondary emergency hospitals in Kobe that treat seriously ill patients has asked the Kobe municipal government to do something about patients who seek treatment because they are intoxicated, not because they are in need of emergency medical care, The Yomiuri Shimbun learned Wednesday. … Of 12,689 patients who received medical examinations on holidays or during nighttime hours in August, 10,754, or about 85 percent, did not require hospitalization. Some reportedly used abusive language or stayed for long periods. In some cases, patients with minor illnesses refused to pay for their treatment, attacked doctors or demanded that the hospitals cover their taxi fares.
From the Yomiuri.