Less than 1 in 10 Emergency Medical Centers Provide Pediatric Care

Jeon Jin-sook: "Government's Complacent Response Despite Emergency Room Circulation"

Jeon Jin-sook Assembly Member

As the medical crisis prolongs, the issue of pediatric patients being sent on a 'roundabout in the emergency room' has become severe, with only 8.5% of emergency medical institutions capable of providing pediatric care without any 24-hour restrictions.

According to the 'Survey on Pediatric Emergency Patient Care Status at Emergency Medical Institutions' submitted by Jeon Jin-sook, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea (Gwangju Buk-gu Eul), to the Ministry of Health and Welfare on the 22nd, out of 410 emergency medical institutions nationwide, only 35 (8.5%) can provide 24-hour pediatric care without restrictions on time, age, or symptoms.

By type of medical institution, there were 8 tertiary general hospitals, 20 general hospitals, 5 hospitals, and 2 public health centers. Looking at the types of emergency medical centers, there were 10 regional emergency medical centers, 13 local emergency medical centers, and 12 local emergency medical institutions, including 3 pediatric specialized emergency medical centers.

Among the 410 emergency medical institutions, 54 (13.2%) reported that they are unable to treat pediatric emergency patients and cannot accept such patients at all. By type of medical institution, these included 3 tertiary general hospitals, 40 general hospitals, 10 hospitals, and 1 public health center. By type of emergency medical center, there was 1 regional emergency medical center, 11 local emergency medical centers, and 42 local emergency medical institutions.

321 emergency medical institutions (78.3%) were found to provide pediatric emergency care with restrictions based on time, age, or symptoms. Among the pediatric age groups that each emergency medical institution reported as unable to treat, 11 institutions said they could not treat newborns, 3 could not treat infants under 100 days, 60 could not treat those under 12 months, 68 could not treat those under 24 months, and 19 could not treat those under 36 months. In total, 161 institutions (39.2%) indicated difficulty in providing emergency care for infants and toddlers.

148 emergency medical institutions (36%) responded that emergency room treatment is only available during weekday office hours. Some emergency medical institutions also noted that they only accept patients with mild symptoms or simple abdominal pain. The main reason cited for the inability to provide 24-hour pediatric emergency care was a shortage of doctors in the relevant medical fields.

There was also a severe shortage of pediatric and adolescent specialists in emergency rooms. Among the 410 medical institutions, only 76 (18.5%) had pediatric and adolescent specialists working as dedicated doctors. This means that one in five emergency medical institutions capable of pediatric emergency care does not have a pediatric or adolescent specialist.

Assemblywoman Jeon emphasized, "The prolonged medical crisis has worsened the 'emergency room roundabout' for pediatric emergency patients, but the government keeps repeating that the emergency medical situation is similar to previous years. The Yoon Seok-yeol administration, which fails to protect public health and patient safety, must acknowledge its policy failure, issue an official apology, and dismiss those responsible to restore trust with the medical community."

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