Struggling for nearly two months amid the absence of junior doctors, most major emergency medical centers in Seoul have limited operations due to tight staffing, and emergency physicians have warned of following suit if the ongoing standoff over the medical school admission quota hike remains unresolved.
More than 90 percent of South Korea’s 13,000 trainee doctors have walked off the job since Feb. 20 in protest of the government’s plan to increase the number of medical school admissions by 2,000 starting next year from the current 3,058 seats to address a shortage of doctors.
The government has vowed to be flexible and open to talks with the medical community, but no breakthrough has been made.
As of Monday, six out of seven major emergency medical centers designated by the government in Seoul have reduced or suspended some surgeries and other treatments for patients as they are short-staffed and remaining officials have been overstretched, hospital officials said.
Nationwide, more than nine out of 44 s
uch centers have not been able to fully provide emergency care services.
“We’ve witnessed serious disruptions in hospital operations. The emergency medical response system is also reaching a breaking point,” an emergency physician said.
The association of emergency medicine doctors said it is conducting a survey of its members about how they view the current situation and what steps they will take down the road.
“If the ongoing standoff is not resolved at an early date, we will prepare for detailed actions, including tendering resignations, to protect junior doctors and to voice opposition to the government’s unreasonable policy measures,” an association official said.
The possible walkout by emergency physicians will lead to “devastating consequences,” he warned.
Second Vice Health Minister Park Min-soo told a regular briefing Monday that the government is working hard for dialogue, and called on emergency care doctors to refrain from staging any collective action.
The government is pushing to increase
the admission quota to address a shortage of doctors, particularly 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, South Korea is also expected to fall short by 15,000 doctors by 2035.
But doctors argue 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