The National Assembly (NA) of the Kingdom of Cambodia on Mar. 24 released a statement, condemning the terrorist attack at Moscow Crocus Concert Hall, the Russian Federation and expressing its condolences to the families of the victims.
The NA of the Kingdom of Cambodia is appalled by the loss of hundreds of people and hundreds injured in a terrorist attack at the Moscow Crocus Concert Hall on Mar. 22, 2024, said the statement.
‘On behalf of the Cambodian people, we are deeply saddened and extend our deepest condolences to the bereaved families, and also wish all the injured a speedy recovery and good health,’ it continued.
The National Assembly of the Kingdom of Cambodia condemns such acts of terrorism and considers them an indefensible crime, the statement underlined.
‘We extend our unwavering solidarity to the Government of the Russian Federation and its people during this time of sorrow,’ concluded the same source.
Source: Agence Kampuchea Presse
The monthlong confrontation between the government and doctors was feared to worsen further as medical school professors were to tender mass resignations and cut back on patient care starting this week, while the government was to suspend the licenses of striking trainee doctors, officials said Sunday.
More than 90 percent of the country’s 13,000 trainee doctors have been on strike in the form of mass resignations for about a month to protest the government’s decision to increase the medical school enrollment quota by 2,000 seats from the current 3,058 starting next year to enhance health care services in remote areas, as well as essential but less popular medical disciplines.
Joining the collective action, professors of medical schools nationwide will begin to submit their resignations Monday and will reduce their weekly work hours to 52 hours by adjusting surgeries and other medical treatments, according to the national medical school professors’ council.
Starting April 1, they will also “minimize” medi
cal services for outpatients to focus on seriously ill patients and emergency patient care.
The professors have called on the government to withdraw the plan to drastically raise the medical school enrollment quota and come forward for dialogue.
“Our decision to resign and reduce outpatient care was to ensure safe treatments for inpatients and those with serious cases,” a council official said. “Even after tendering our resignations, we will do our best to treat patients until the resignations are accepted.”
Health Minister Cho Kyoo-hong once again voiced deep concerns over the planned resignations by medical professors and called on them to stand by patients.
“The government will further strengthen the emergency medical response system to minimize disruptions to medical services caused by the collective action,” Cho said after holding a meeting on the issue Sunday. “We urge medical school professors to actively take part in discussing detailed medical reform measures.”
The government has made it clear t
hat the planned increase of medical students by 2,000 was not a matter for negotiations, vowing to take action “in accordance with law and principles.”
The government has been taking due administrative steps to suspend the licenses of striking doctors as they missed a government-set deadline to return to work late last month, and the suspension will take effect Tuesday for some.
On Sunday, Ruling People Power Party chief Han Dong-hoon met with representatives of the Medical Professors Association of Korea to discuss the ongoing strike.
Speaking to reporters after the closed-door meeting, Han said he was asked to “mediate” between the government and the medical community to “prevent a situation that can bring harm to people.”
At the request of Han, President Yoon Suk Yeol urged Prime Minister Han Duck-soo to consult with the party to seek a “flexible” process in suspending the licenses of striking trainee doctors, the presidential office said.
Yoon also asked Han to form a “constructive” consultative body
to promote dialogue with medical workers, according to his office.
Yoon’s decision raises the possibility that the suspension of licenses, initially set to take effect Tuesday, could be delayed.
Under South Korea’s medical law, doctors refusing the state back-to-work order could face a minimum three-month suspension, as well as indictments from the prosecution.
The prolonged deadlock has worsened medical service disruptions.
An association of critically ill patients has urged the government to come up with “practical solutions” and appealed for doctors to use restraint, saying the walkouts by professors under the current circumstances equal “a death sentence” for patients.
The government plans to deploy 247 more military surgeons and public health doctors at strike-hit hospitals to bring the total number of such medical staff to 413.
It also seeks to hire senior doctors who have retired to minimize the chaos.
The government is pushing to increase the admission quota to address a shortage of doctors, pa
rticularly in rural areas and essential medical fields, such as high-risk surgeries, pediatrics, obstetrics and emergency medicine.
Given the rapid population aging and other issues, the country is also expected to fall short of 15,000 doctors by 2035.
But doctors argue that the quota hikes would compromise the quality of medical education and services and create a surplus of physicians, and the government must devise ways of better protecting them from malpractice suits and extending compensation to induce more physicians to practice in such “unpopular” areas.
Source: Yonhap News Agency