"When Our Child Is Sick, Where Do We Go? Closing Pediatric Clinics and the Staffing Shortage"

Gil Hospital Temporarily Suspends Pediatric Inpatient Care Due to No Residency Applicants
Similar Situations in Other Hospitals... Pediatric Emergency Medical System 'Shaken'
Abnormally Low Medical Fees Also a Problem

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Seung-gon] An unprecedented situation has arisen where inpatient care has been suspended due to a shortage of pediatric residents. Experts emphasize that adjusting pediatric care fees is essential for a comprehensive solution to the problem.

Na Young-ho, president of the Korean Society of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine (professor of pediatrics at Kyung Hee University), appeared on CBS Radio's "Kim Hyun-jung's News Show" on the 14th to discuss the current situation.

He said, regarding the suspension of pediatric inpatient care and treatment at Gil Hospital, a general hospital in Incheon, on the 12th, "It seems the decision was made due to a shortage of medical personnel related to pediatrics in the ward." He also explained that more than 50 hospitals failed to recruit residents this year.

The pediatric department at Gil Hospital has a quota of four residents. In the recruitment process for first-year residents in the first half of next year, not a single applicant applied. They have not recruited any residents since the early recruitment in 2020, marking four consecutive years without new residents. Ultimately, with no applicants for the upcoming recruitment, the hospital temporarily suspended ward operations.

The hospital plans to temporarily suspend pediatric inpatient care until specialists are replenished in March next year. However, the shortage of pediatric staff is not limited to this hospital; similar situations exist in other hospitals, raising concerns that the regional pediatric emergency medical system could collapse entirely.

Regarding the resident recruitment situation, President Na said, "Looking at the situation regionally for pediatric residents, Ajou University Hospital in the Seoul and Gyeonggi areas had applicants. In the Chungcheong region, there was one applicant each at Chungbuk National University Hospital and Jeonbuk National University, but in the Yeongnam area, there were no applicants for pediatrics at all."

Gachon University Gil Medical Center has suspended inpatient treatment for pediatric and adolescent patients starting this month. Photo by Gachon University Gil Medical Center Department of Pediatrics and Adolescents homepage capture

Regarding the application rate, he said, "It started to decline gradually from 2019, reaching about 28% last year, but this year, only 33 out of our 207 positions were filled, showing an application rate of less than 16%."

He argued that the avoidance of pediatrics is due to issues with medical fees.

President Na stated, "Until now, pediatrics has suffered from abnormally low medical fees but compensated through high patient volume. However, with the onset of COVID-19 and the already existing ultra-low birthrate, the volume of care has decreased by about 40%, which has greatly increased anxiety about specialist care."

He continued, "In reality, pediatrics has the lowest income among all departments after opening a practice, and it is the only specialty whose income has decreased compared to several years ago."

President Na emphasized, "This pediatric issue is a supply and demand problem, not caused by an overall shortage of doctors. The more urgent issue is the collapse of the care system, which will worsen over the next few years."

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