Hospitals in Obstetric Vulnerable Areas Return Subsidies Only When Operations Are Suspended Despite Staff Shortages

Ministry of Health and Welfare to Improve System
by Reflecting Field Opinions

The government has decided to improve the situation after obstetrics and gynecology clinics in delivery-vulnerable areas, managed by CMS, faced having to return government subsidies due to their inability to hire medical personnel.

On the 25th, the Ministry of Health and Welfare announced that it will improve the 'Delivery-Vulnerable Area Support Project System' by reflecting the opinions of obstetrics and gynecology clinics in vulnerable areas.

The Delivery-Vulnerable Area Support Project is a system that provides support for facilities, equipment, and operating expenses in regions where access to delivery medical services is difficult. It provides 1 billion KRW in the first year for facilities and equipment costs (differentiated according to the vulnerability grade), and 500 million KRW annually for operating expenses.

However, if a hospital does not meet the personnel standards, it must return the operating expenses regardless of whether it actually operates, which has been criticized in the medical field as potentially making flexible operation according to regional characteristics difficult.

When Park Min-su, the 2nd Vice Minister of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, visited Chamsan Obstetrics and Gynecology Clinic in Boryeong City, Chungnam Province, last December, Director Jo Young-seok conveyed these field difficulties and requested a relaxation of the return criteria. Director Jo also asked the government to pay attention to the difficulty of finding a higher-level hospital to accept high-risk delivery mothers in vulnerable areas in emergency situations.

In response, the Ministry of Health and Welfare decided to improve the related standards considering the difficult conditions of medical vulnerable areas. First, the related guidelines will be revised within this month so that operating expenses must be returned only when the actual operation of the medical institution has been suspended, and if costs such as labor expenses occurred during the period of non-operation, they can be excluded from the return amount.

Additionally, the support target will be expanded to allow obstetrics and gynecology clinics that are already operating delivery rooms to receive operating expenses. According to the delivery vulnerability criteria, grades A and B only received installation and operating expenses when newly installing delivery rooms, but this standard has been improved.

Furthermore, the grace period for hiring personnel will be extended from the existing one month to three months, and in special circumstances, additional extensions will be possible with the approval of local governments.

Along with this, starting from April, the Ministry plans to promote the 'Maternal Medical Care Cooperation Pilot Project' to establish cooperative relationships between regional general delivery institutions and higher-level hospitals within the region, enabling joint response to high-risk deliveries and emergency situations.

Vice Minister Park said, "I deeply appreciate the directors who do their best in delivery-vulnerable areas despite difficult conditions," and added, "We will continue to strengthen support to create an environment where medical care can be provided with peace of mind in essential medical fields."

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