Operation of 'Weekend On-Duty Hospitals' for COVID-19 in the Seoul Metropolitan Area... Emergency Patient Response (Comprehensive)

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Young-won] Starting from the 20th, weekend duty hospitals will be operated at major hospitals in the Seoul metropolitan area to ensure the rapid allocation of beds for severe COVID-19 patients.

The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters for COVID-19 announced on the 17th that, after discussing the operation plan for weekend duty hospitals for severe beds in the metropolitan area, major general hospitals in the metropolitan area will operate weekend duty hospitals for severe beds for six weeks from the 20th to September 25.

Although the overall medical response capacity, including bed occupancy rates, still has some leeway, this measure was taken in response to concerns that high-risk pregnant women, infants, patients with severe underlying conditions, and patients requiring emergency surgery may not be able to be assigned beds quickly on weekends or holidays.

Park Hyang, head of the Central Accident Response Headquarters’ quarantine team, explained the background of this measure, saying, "Although we operate a situation board, there are times when confirmed patients cannot be admitted because emergency rooms at nearby hospitals are full. At such times, patients need to check the situation board and move to another hospital. When we operated duty hospitals in the first half of the year, patients were able to select a hospital quickly."

According to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, after consultations with medical institutions, three hospitals (six beds) out of 18 hospitals operating designated COVID-19 beds in the metropolitan area (17 major general hospitals and the National Medical Center) will be designated as weekend duty hospitals. There are 11 in Seoul, 4 in Gyeonggi, and 3 in Incheon.

These beds will be prioritized for patients requiring intensive care in the ICU, patients needing emergency surgery, and pregnant women and infants. Although the operation period is six weeks, it may be extended depending on the COVID-19 epidemic situation.

Regarding measures for severe patients outside the metropolitan area, Park said, "In non-metropolitan areas, if the issue cannot be resolved within the respective region, the information network is operated so that bed allocation can extend beyond the region."

Additionally, to increase the administration rate of oral antiviral treatments, the government will analyze the treatment administration status by city and province and prepare improvement plans for areas with low administration rates. Kim Seong-ho, the second chief coordinator of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (Director of the Disaster and Safety Management Headquarters, Ministry of the Interior and Safety), who chaired the meeting, said, "We will monitor the treatment administration status by city and province, analyze obstacles in areas with low administration rates, and prepare improvement plans." He also stated that treatment administration will be actively encouraged in infection-vulnerable facilities such as nursing homes through contracted doctors and mobile task forces.

The meeting also discussed quarantine responses for areas affected by heavy rain damage. To minimize the possibility of COVID-19 cluster infections in shelters for disaster victims, the government will separate confirmed and non-confirmed individuals, and if confirmed cases occur, they will be immediately transferred to other isolation facilities such as social welfare facilities or lodging facilities according to their symptoms.

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