Yoon Seok-yeol Meets Nurses: "Must Prevent On-Site Nurse Attrition... Need to Consider Enacting Nursing Act"

Former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol, who declared his presidential candidacy, visited the Seoul Nurses Association in Guro-gu, Seoul on the 22nd and held a meeting with nurses. Photo by National Assembly Press Photographers Group

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jun-yi] Former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol, who met with nurses as part of a public opinion listening schedule, stated, "We need to create conditions that allow skilled nurses to work long-term on the front lines," emphasizing the need to consider the enactment of the Nursing Act.

On the afternoon of the 22nd, after attending a COVID-19 nurse encouragement meeting held at the Seoul Nurses Association in Guro-gu, Seoul, Yoon told reporters, "Nursing is a highly specialized field, but after studying and practicing, nurses are deployed to the field where the average tenure is only about 7 to 8 years due to the difficulty of the work, causing many to leave the field," expressing his concerns.

He then referred to the current Medical Service Act's standards for the number of nurses. He said, "There is a legal standard for nurses in hospitals of various levels established during the revision of the Medical Service Act in the early 1960s, but even now, the numbers fall far short. Simply put, if there are a certain number of students, there should be a certain number of teachers, but the ratio is very mismatched," pointing out, "This means the medical system inherently causes nurses to be overburdened with work."

He added, "From the perspective of the health of the entire nation, we need to deeply consider to what extent we can have nurses."

That day, he held a private meeting with on-site nurses, including Park In-sook, president of the Seoul Nurses Association, and Cho Yoon-soo, vice president of the Seoul Nurses Association, to hear about the difficulties faced in nursing practice.

Before the meeting, President Park said, "In the prolonged COVID-19 situation lasting over a year, nurses are gradually becoming exhausted due to physical and mental fatigue and stress," and added, "I hope that when planning policies as a presidential candidate, you will not forget the medical staff working hard on the front lines and will definitely reflect their needs."

On-site nurses proposed to former Prosecutor General Yoon the enactment of the Nursing Act, institutionalization of nurse allowance payments, and an increase in medical expenses for nursing public officials. They also mentioned the shortage of skilled nursing personnel caring for critically ill patients amid the ongoing COVID-19 spread and the physical limits faced due to the prolonged operation of negative pressure wards.

In response, Yoon said, "Having experienced SARS and MERS, infection disease countermeasures and the public healthcare system have gradually improved, but during the COVID-19 crisis, they were grossly insufficient, which made me think that our country's public healthcare system needs to be better organized," adding, "The difficulties and wishes of nurses are directly related to the health and well-being of the people."

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