Mass Resignation of Nurses at Pohang Medical Center Designated as COVID-19 Dedicated Hospital

Pohang Medical Center to Become an Infectious Disease Dedicated Hospital Starting from the 2nd / Photo by Pohang City

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Kim Seul-gi] Nurses at Gyeongbuk Provincial Pohang Medical Center, designated as a dedicated hospital for COVID-19, have collectively resigned, causing an emergency situation.

According to Pohang City on the 2nd, Pohang Medical Center was designated as an infectious disease dedicated hospital by the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters and will convert the entire inpatient ward into a specialized ward for COVID-19 confirmed patients starting from the 2nd.

Among about 100 nurses at this hospital, 16 recently resigned due to personal reasons.

It is known that nurses who originally planned to retire in January and February postponed their retirement to care for COVID-19 patients, resulting in a concentrated retirement period.

To minimize medical gaps caused by the shortage of nurses, Gyeongbuk Province and Pohang City decided to recruit volunteers through the Korean Nurses Association and other organizations, receiving support from 15 volunteers as of the 1st.

Subsequently, to respond to the shortage of nursing staff, they plan to recruit and deploy nursing volunteers through various channels.

Pohang City plans to additionally support 16 specialized medical personnel at Pohang Medical Center, 10 volunteer doctors from the Pohang Medical Association, and 24 administrative support staff to ensure the smooth operation of the infectious disease dedicated hospital.

A Gyeongbuk Province official stated, "Although an emergency arose temporarily due to some nurses quitting for various reasons, many places have agreed to send volunteers as replacements, so there should be no major problems in operating the dedicated hospital. Once the infectious disease dedicated hospital begins operation tomorrow, we plan to provide various supports so that residents can easily receive COVID-19 testing and treatment."

Meanwhile, Pohang Medical Center also announced that it will operate a 'drive-through' screening clinic where COVID-19 tests can be conducted while patients remain in their cars.

Pohang City expects that with the establishment of the drive-through screening clinic, the specimen collection time, which previously took about 30 minutes, will be reduced to about 10 minutes.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.