Severe Patients Increasing... Expansion of Hospital Beds and Medical Facilities Stalled

'One-Stop Medical Institutions' Targeted 10,000 This Month but Only Around 6,000 So Far

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Young-won] As the number of new COVID-19 cases and critically ill patients increases, the government's announced expansion of beds and one-stop medical institutions is not progressing quickly.

On the 20th, the government announced plans to designate an additional 10,000 one-stop medical institutions that handle COVID-19 testing, treatment, and prescriptions by the end of this month, and to secure 4,000 beds. Among these, an administrative order was preemptively issued on the same day for 1,405 beds. Lee Ki-il, the first chief coordinator (Vice Minister of Health and Welfare), explained, "1,276 beds are expected to be secured within a week, 119 beds within two weeks, and 40 beds within three weeks."

However, the number of one-stop medical institutions and COVID-19 beds announced on the 27th, a week later, fell short of the government's target. The total number of one-stop medical institutions was 6,596, an increase of only 103 from the 6,492 institutions announced by the government. To achieve the goal of 10,000 within this month, about 3,400 additional one-stop medical institutions must be secured in four days.

The situation is similar for COVID-19 beds. The number increased by 378 over the week to 6,077, which is about one-third of the original plan. By severity, beds for critically ill patients increased by 128, semi-critical beds by 98, and moderate severity beds by 152.

During the same period, the number of beds newly in use increased more than the number of beds expanded. As of the 20th, 1,424 beds were in use, and by the 27th, 2,007 beds were in use, an increase of 583 beds over the week. Bed occupancy rates also rose: critically ill by 4.9 percentage points, semi-critical by 10.7 percentage points, and moderate severity by 8.0 percentage points.

The quarantine authorities stated that they will supplement incentives related to one-stop medical institutions to promote expansion. Park Hyang, head of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters' quarantine team, said, "When we consulted with local governments and medical staff about the slow expansion speed, the vulnerable part was the expansion of treatment institutions," adding, "For Paxlovid, which has many contraindications, we improved measures so that medical staff can manage and make quick decisions more easily." From the 27th until September 30, a special fee for 'one-stop medical institution integrated treatment' will also be applied to one-stop medical institutions.

Regarding beds, authorities explained that bed expansion according to plan is possible within a week. Park said, "Unlike before, when beds were forcibly expanded at a uniform rate, we are now confirming beds that can operate on-site and adjusting the speed of increase considering occupancy and allocation rates."

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