(Yicai Global) Jan. 6 -- Shares of Xi'an International Medical Investment plummeted today following medical-related scandals at two of its hospitals.

After dropping as much as 9.6 percent, the Xi’an-based company’s stock price [SHE: 000516] ended 4.8 percent down at CNY10.28 (USD1.61).

A pregnant woman went to its Xi'an Gaoxin Hospital on Jan. 1 but was not admitted because her nucleic acid test result for coronavirus was four hours too old. She began bleeding badly and was finally admitted after waiting for two hours at the entrance. She lost the baby.

The health commissions of Sha’anxi province and its capital city Xi’an announced yesterday the sacking of the heads of the outpatient and medical departments after following investigations. Xi’an Gaoxin Hospital has also suspended General Manager Fan Yuhui.

Public anger was also fueled by another recent case related to International Medical. A Xi’an resident said in a post on Weibo that her father started suffering from chest pains on Jan. 2 but was refused entry to hospital as he was from a medium-level risk area. She said her father was eventually admitted for surgery, but died due to the long delay. The facility is believed to be Xi’an International Medical Center Hospital.

The community spread of Covid-19 in Xi'an, a city of 13 million people in lockdown, has been brought under control, local authorities said on Jan. 4, according to a Xinhua News Agency report yesterday.

International Medical runs three large general hospitals: Xi'an Gaoxin Hospital, Xi’an International Medical Center Hospital, and Xi'an Shangluo International Medical Center.

Xi'an Gaoxin Hospital was the only profitable one of the three in the first half of last year, according to the firm’s semi-annual earnings report. It had CNY42.3 million (USD6.6 million) in net profit, compared with International Medical’s CNY360 million net loss.

Xi'an Gaoxin Hospital was also the firm’s most profitable medical institution in 2020, making CNY60.7 million. International Medical reported a net profit of CNY45.4 million that year. 

Editor: Tom Litting