Doctors Suspended After Patient Was Forgotten Inside MRI Machine For 6 Hours Overnight

A shocking medical incident in Wuhan, China has sparked outrage after a man was accidentally left inside an MRI room for nearly six hours overnight because of a handover mistake between hospital staff.

According to reports, the incident happened at Tongji Hospital under Huazhong University of Science and Technology in Hubei Province. The hospital officially suspended the medical team involved after the case drew major public attention.

The patient, identified as Mr. Tang, had visited the hospital for a neck MRI scan during the early hours of February 26. Around midnight, medical staff positioned him inside MRI Room No. 2, secured his head, and placed a specialized mask on him before beginning the examination.

However, after preparing the patient, the female doctor reportedly left the room to handle other duties. Before leaving, she updated the hospital’s electronic system to show the procedure as “completed” and informed another colleague to take over the shift.

The problem was that:

the next staff member allegedly forgot to check the MRI chamber.

As a result, Mr. Tang remained trapped inside the MRI room throughout the entire night.

According to reports, the man repeatedly cried for help for hours but nobody responded. At one point, he considered climbing out of the machine himself. However, because the MRI machine continued making operational sounds, he became frightened and worried moving could endanger his health, so he remained lying still inside the narrow chamber.

Meanwhile, his wife became alarmed after losing contact with him and eventually contacted police for help. Hospital security checked the electronic records and mistakenly confirmed that the examination had already ended around 12:10 a.m., leaving the family unable to locate him.

It was not until around 6 a.m. that a cleaning staff member entered the room, heard faint cries for help, and alerted security personnel. Mr. Tang was finally removed from the MRI room in an exhausted condition after spending nearly six hours trapped inside.

Hospital representatives later explained that MRI machines typically remain running continuously because the equipment requires stable magnetic fields and extremely low temperatures. Imaging experts also stated that remaining inside an MRI machine for extended periods generally does not expose patients to radiation risks because MRI technology uses magnetic fields rather than ionizing radiation like X-rays or CT scans.

Following the incident, the hospital publicly apologized and arranged a full medical examination for the patient. Reports say compensation discussions between the hospital and the family have not yet been resolved, and the hospital advised the family to pursue legal procedures if necessary.

The shocking case has now triggered widespread discussion online about hospital safety procedures, staff handovers, and how such a serious oversight could happen inside a major medical facility.