President Moon holds meeting with public healthcare officials on securing hospital beds...praises their efforts

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] On the afternoon of the 30th, President Moon Jae-in held a meeting with public healthcare officials regarding securing COVID-19 hospital beds and praised their hard work.

Attendees included directors of national university hospitals nationwide, chairpersons of the Association of Provincial Medical Centers, directors of metropolitan area provincial medical centers, the director of the Central Veterans Hospital, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education, the Minister of Health and Welfare, and the Commander of the Medical Corps of the Ministry of National Defense.

In his opening remarks, President Moon expressed gratitude to the medical staff who are doing their best to treat COVID-19 patients on the front lines of healthcare.

He especially extended special thanks to public hospitals that have actively cooperated with government policies and played a central role in the COVID-19 response, stating that he would listen to the difficulties and demands of each hospital in the process of securing beds and promptly prepare improvement measures.

President Moon said, "Since COVID-19 is not a temporary infectious disease, securing hospital beds, the medical system, and the quarantine system must be sustainable," and added, "I hope fundamental measures will be solidly prepared with a long-term perspective."

The attendees proposed ▲recruitment of medical personnel dedicated to severe COVID-19 patients and for additional bed operations ▲realistic compensation for medical personnel such as allowance payments ▲institutional arrangements at the government level for the supply and demand of medical personnel outside the metropolitan area ▲resolution of wage differences between dispatched medical staff and existing medical staff ▲measures to prevent turnover of medical personnel ▲support for public clinical professors, among others.

In his closing remarks, President Moon said, "Measures must be established that medical personnel can handle," and instructed, "Review the proposals regarding recruitment, improvement of treatment, resolving turnover issues caused by wage differences between dispatched and existing medical staff, and public clinical professors that can be shared between university hospitals and provincial medical centers."

He also urged continuous communication with the medical community to resolve difficulties faced by public hospitals and to use this as an opportunity to properly expand public healthcare.

Meanwhile, the various opinions proposed on this day will be concretely implemented through a task force (TF) for bed expansion chaired by the Chief of Staff.

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