Gyeonggi-do Prepares Measures to Distribute 'Influenza Patients' During Lunar New Year Holiday

Gyeonggi Province has decided to distribute high-risk patients with influenza from nursing hospitals within the province to about 50 cooperative hospitals, including Gyeonggi Provincial Medical Center, to prevent emergency room congestion during the Lunar New Year holiday.

On the 21st, Gyeonggi Province held a meeting with 287 nursing hospitals housing high-risk groups aged 65 and older, six hospitals of the Gyeonggi Provincial Medical Center, and heads of public health centers from 31 cities and counties to establish these measures.

This action comes as patients suspected of having influenza have recently been visiting emergency rooms, causing regional emergency medical centers to struggle with treating severe patients. Gyeonggi Province expects the congestion of emergency patients to worsen during the Lunar New Year holiday period.

Accordingly, Gyeonggi Province plans to operate about 50 cooperative hospitals across 31 cities and counties that can admit and treat respiratory patients during the Lunar New Year holiday.

Gyeonggi Province has designated 40 hospitals in 19 cities and counties as cooperative hospitals. For cities and counties without cooperative hospitals, one or two additional hospitals were newly designated this time.

In the event of transfer patients with pneumonia caused by influenza during the Lunar New Year holiday from the 287 nursing hospitals in the province, prior consultations will be made to transfer them to cooperative hospitals instead of the regional emergency medical center emergency rooms, thereby dispersing emergency room usage.

Gyeonggi Provincial Government

Additionally, among the six hospitals of the Gyeonggi Provincial Medical Center, five hospitals (Suwon, Icheon, Anseong, Paju, and Pocheon Hospitals), excluding Uijeongbu Hospital, plan to accept emergency patients 24 hours a day during the Lunar New Year holiday.

Gyeonggi Province will operate an emergency response week for the Lunar New Year holiday for 15 days from the 22nd of this month to the 5th of next month, actively responding to prevent gaps in severe patient care and to alleviate emergency room overcrowding.

The system has been organized around nine regional emergency medical centers and five base area emergency medical centers to ensure that severe patients receive prompt treatment. During the holiday, the province will secure as many open hospitals and clinics as possible to minimize outpatient care gaps for influenza patients and others.

Yu Young-cheol, Director of the Gyeonggi Province Health and Wellness Bureau, explained, "Although the number of suspected influenza patients has somewhat decreased recently, the disease is still spreading at a high level among infants and those aged 65 and older. We have prepared these plans to protect the lives and health of our residents."

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