"I want to receive treatment in Ulsan" ... Ulsan Office of Education requests establishment of Pediatric and Adolescent Psychiatry at Ulsan Medical Center

Ulsan Metropolitan Office of Education.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters, Trainee Reporter Hwang Du-yeol] Ulsan Office of Education has rolled up its sleeves to secure more child and adolescent psychiatry resources in Ulsan.

The Ulsan Office of Education officially requested Ulsan City to establish a child and adolescent psychiatry department when setting up the Ulsan Medical Center.

The Ulsan Medical Center is a comprehensive public medical facility promoted by Ulsan City, with 500 beds and 22 medical departments.

Due to a shortage of child and adolescent psychiatry specialists in the region, Ulsan is facing difficulties in effectively managing students at risk.

As of June, the status of psychiatry departments shows Busan has the most with 123, followed by Daegu with 69, Daejeon 61, Incheon 50, and Gwangju 43. Ulsan has only 17.

As of December last year, among the cities mentioned above, Ulsan has the fewest specialists, with one specialist per 33,746 students, the highest student-to-specialist ratio.

According to the emotional and behavioral characteristics test of students in Ulsan, the number of students at risk was 1,059 in 2018, 1,081 in 2019, and 840 in 2020.

The Ulsan Office of Education supports treatment costs up to 1 million KRW per student in the suicide risk group at nine contracted medical institutions. An additional 500,000 KRW is provided for continuous hospitalization exceeding 10 days.

Mental health specialists visit schools that apply or require on-site support to provide counseling and advisory services.

A representative from the Ulsan Office of Education said, “Early detection of mental health risk groups during elementary, middle, and high school group life allows timely treatment. It is necessary to establish a child and adolescent psychiatry department when founding the Ulsan Medical Center so that experts can counsel students and connect them with specialized institutions for treatment.”

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