US hospital’s extraordinary bid to identify mystery dying patient

“Baffled” doctors have issued an extraordinary global appeal to help identify a mystery “patient with no name” before he passes away.

A mysterious dying patient has left doctors scrambling to try and identify the man before it is too late.

Baffled officials in California have been forced to launch an extraordinary appeal for help as they continue to look for anyone who may know the man.

The seriously ill patient has been looked after at the Riverside Community Hospital since he arrived by himself on September 28, The Sun reports.

A last chance press release by staff showed an image of the man connected to breathing tubes on a hospital bed.

The picture shows the slim man has a shaved head, short facial hair brown eyebrows and light blue eyes.

He is believed to be between 27 and 40 years old and is around 5ft 7in (170cms), according to a local news outlet.

Doctors also say he weighs just 48kg.

Doctors are caught in a race against time to find out who their dying patient is. Picture: Riverside Community Hospital

“Hospital Case Management and Social Worker teams have exhausted resources in attempting identification, including working with the Riverside Police Department,” the appeal reads.

No further details have been released about the man including his current condition and why he was hooked up to a ventilator.

Anyone with information relating to the mystery patient has been asked to contact Social Services Supervisor Kanval Gill at 951-897-9438.

The issue of unidentifiable patients may be rare but several other hospitals have faced similar struggles in the past.

Back in 2018, a man arrived at a Melbourne hospital without identification and hospital staff have been unable to communicate with him or determine his identity, Victoria Police said at the time.

As a result, authorities issued a public appeal alongside a photograph of the unidentified man – who had grey hair, blue eyes and a full beard – in hope that someone would recognise him and come forward.

Riverside Community Hospital issued the extraordinary plea to help identify the mystery ‘patient with no name’. Picture: Google

In another baffling case, a man known only as “John” stayed in a Manhattan hospital for six weeks.

Cops begged for help identifying the patient who only remembered his first name after he was admitted to hospital in October 2019 with a broken leg.

Although it wasn’t clear what condition caused John to lose his memory, he did display several signs of amnesia.

Dr Chase Coffey, an associate medical director of inpatient services at LA County, said mystery person cases are actually fairly common.

Typically, those patients who go weeks or months without being named are often homeless, use a fake identity or are undocumented.

Or they could be trauma victims, Coffey added.

This article originally appeared on The Sun and was reproduced with permission