Busan City Activates Emergency Medical System in Preparation for the Medical Association's Second Collective Strike

Closed for 3 days from the 26th... 28 emergency medical institutions maintain 24-hour care system
Medical clinics: 2,400 locations under treatment order and closure report order

Busan City Emergency Medical Institutions.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] As the Korean Medical Association's second collective strike is scheduled to begin on the 26th, Busan City has started preparing emergency medical response measures.

Since the 24th, Busan City has established a 'Emergency Medical Response Situation Room' operating 24 hours a day at the city and district/county levels to respond to chronic disease patients and emergency cases.

Twenty-eight emergency medical institutions are maintaining a 24-hour treatment system, and 169 hospital-level medical institutions have been requested to extend consultation hours and cooperate with weekend and holiday treatments, activating an emergency medical system.

In preparation for the first collective strike by the Korean Medical Association on the 14th, Busan City operated pre-treatment guidance and an emergency medical institution emergency treatment system to address treatment gaps.

As a result, despite a 46.1% strike rate, citizens were able to receive medical care without significant inconvenience.

However, with the Korean Medical Association announcing a second collective strike from the 26th to the 28th for three days, and residents working at training hospitals having started an indefinite suspension of duties excluding COVID-19 treatment from the 24th, concerns about treatment gaps are rising.

On the 21st, Busan City, fearing serious harm to citizens' lives and health due to the collective strike, issued 'treatment orders' and 'strike report orders' to about 2,400 medical institutions at the clinic level.

The city plans to issue a 'work commencement order' if the strike report rate in the region is high. Violations will be subject to on-site verification and measures will be taken according to the 'Medical Service Act' and related laws.

On the 24th, Shin Je-ho, Director of the Welfare and Health Bureau, personally met with Kim Cheol, Chairman of the Busan Hospital Association and Director of Goryeo Hospital, to request cooperation to maintain a 24-hour emergency medical system at hospital-level medical institutions.

Director Shin said, "Patients with chronic diseases such as hypertension and diabetes who use local clinics are encouraged to visit medical institutions in advance for treatment," and added, "We hope medical professionals will protect the treatment sites during this difficult time of nationwide COVID-19 spread."

When visiting medical institutions between the scheduled strike dates of the 26th and 28th, it is necessary to check in advance whether the institution is closed via the Busan City call center or the websites of the city and district/county offices.

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