Gwangyang City Signs Agreement to Operate 'Dalbit Children's Hospital'

Danasa Pediatric Clinic in Jungmadong

Expanding Weekday Night and Holiday Medical Services Starting March

On the 29th, Gwangyang City in Jeollanam-do announced that it held a signing ceremony at the city hall reception room for the successful attraction and operation of the Dalbit Children’s Hospital, where pediatric patients with mild symptoms can receive treatment during weekday nighttime hours and holidays (Saturdays, Sundays, and public holidays).

At the signing ceremony, Kim Do-gyun, the chief director of Dana Pediatric Clinic located in the Middle East, attended and signed an agreement to make joint efforts based on mutual trust to expand the supply of nighttime and holiday medical services for pediatric and adolescent patients in the region.

[Photo provided by Gwangyang-si]

To establish a pediatric emergency medical system, the city enacted an ordinance last year to support public late-night children’s hospitals and launched a public late-night children’s hospital contest on the 2nd of this month.

However, due to a shortage of medical personnel, no medical institutions applied for support. Therefore, the city is planning to attract the ‘Dalbit Children’s Hospital,’ a national government-supported project designated by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, as a quick alternative, with operations expected to begin as early as March.

The operating hours will comply with the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s guidelines for pediatric nighttime and holiday medical institutions (Dalbit Children’s Hospital), running from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. on weekdays and from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on holidays.

Additionally, pharmacies located near the Dalbit Children’s Hospital will be designated as late-night pharmacies and will operate through agreements between medical institutions and pharmacies. The designated institutions will be maintained for two years.

The Dalbit Children’s Hospital is attracting public attention as it alleviates the inconvenience of pediatric patients who have no choice but to use emergency rooms during hospital closing hours despite having non-serious illnesses. It also offers lower nighttime consultation fees than emergency rooms and shorter waiting times.

Jung In-hwa, mayor of Gwangyang City, said, “We expect the pediatric emergency medical service system to improve through extended treatment hours enabled by this Dalbit Children’s Hospital agreement,” adding, “We will continue to strive to resolve citizens’ inconveniences and create a better medical environment.”

Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Heo Seon-sik hss79@asiae.co.kr

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