Ministry of Health and Welfare Conducts Safety Inspections of Social Welfare Facilities Nationwide and Medical Institutions with Over 300 Beds

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] The Ministry of Health and Welfare announced on the 10th that it will conduct safety inspections on social welfare facilities nationwide and medical institutions above a certain scale.

The safety inspection targets a total of 52,221 social welfare facilities, focusing on facility safety and disaster response measures in preparation for winter heavy snow and cold waves, the installation and operation of fire-fighting equipment, and fire prevention and response systems.

Inspections of 21,238 social welfare facilities serving children, the elderly, disabled, and homeless will be conducted from the 14th of this month until January 13 of next year. After self-inspections, local governments will conduct on-site verifications (3,168 locations) and public-private joint inspections (81 locations) based on the results.

For 30,983 daycare centers, self-inspections under the responsibility of the directors have been underway since the 3rd, and if additional inspections are necessary, local governments will carry out on-site inspections. In the case of daycare centers, additional checks will be made on measures to respond to fine dust, indoor air quality management, and safety management of children's school vehicles.

Additionally, from today, the Ministry of Health and Welfare will conduct safety inspections for 337 hospital-level medical institutions with 300 or more beds and general hospitals, together with local governments, over a period of 30 days to prevent safety accidents within medical institutions.

They will examine 32 items across 7 areas, including whether the facility standards under the Medical Service Act are properly followed, whether evacuation plans and routes for patients are secured in case of accidents, and whether safety education for workers is properly conducted.

A Ministry of Health and Welfare official stated, "For minor violations found during inspections, immediate correction on-site will be enforced. If repairs or reinforcements are needed, emergency measures will be taken followed by prompt improvement plans. If necessary, precise safety diagnoses will be conducted through specialized institutions."

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