20,000 Doctors Gather in Yeouido... Hospital Emergency Rooms in Chaos with "Surgery Cancellations"
by Kim Eunha
Published 03 Mar.2024 18:50(KST)
Government: "Leniency if you return by today"
Doctors: "Medical school expansion and essential medical package must be stopped"
As residents oppose the increase in medical school admissions and leave hospitals, difficulties on the ground are intensifying. Even large hospitals known as the so-called ‘Big 5’ are selectively accepting emergency patients. On this day, the Korean Medical Association (KMA) held a general rally near Yeouido Park in Seoul, aiming to gather 20,000 doctors.
!['If restored by today, leniency will be granted', will the residents proceed with collective action? Return? <br>[Photo by Yonhap News]](http://www.asiae.co.kr/news/img_view.htm?img=2024030318194381813_1709457583.jpeg)
'If restored by today, leniency will be granted', will the residents proceed with collective action? Return?
[Photo by Yonhap News]
Yonhap News reported on the 3rd that surgeries for cancer patients are being postponed due to the reduction in operations. Although there are reports of some residents returning, the overall sentiment is that it is still difficult to feel the impact. Each hospital is continuously operating an emergency medical system that reduces surgeries and consultations due to the prolonged work gap caused by residents, closely monitoring their return and the additional departure of fellows.
The so-called ‘Big 5’ tertiary general hospitals have yet to see any movement of residents returning. These hospitals have already cut surgeries by nearly 50% and drastically reduced admissions of new patients and outpatient consultations. While they intend to operate emergency rooms and intensive care units to the fullest extent possible using professors and fellows, the situation remains challenging.
The government emphasized once again that residents returning by the 3rd would be treated leniently and urged them to come back. However, tens of thousands of doctors gathered in Yeouido, Seoul, raising their voices condemning the increase in medical school admissions and the essential medical policy package, further heightening tensions in the medical community.
According to the comprehensive status board of the Central Emergency Medical Center, Seoul Asan Medical Center announced that it can no longer accommodate medical intensive care unit (MICU) patients in the emergency room. Severance Hospital stated that it would only partially accept emergency patients such as those with myocardial infarction and cerebral hemorrhage.
Government Announces Pilot Project Plan to Adjust Nursing Scope of Work
Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital also stated that it is completely impossible to accept patients with simple lacerations or open wounds, including on the face, in the emergency room 24 hours a day. The hospital expects that if the current situation continues, surgeries and consultations will be further reduced, and patient waiting times will inevitably increase by two to three times.
The government is also strengthening its response. On the 27th, the Ministry of Health and Welfare announced and immediately launched a pilot project plan to adjust the scope of nurses’ work to address the medical service gaps caused by the departure of residents. Hospital directors nationwide can newly define the scope of nursing duties based on nurses’ proficiency and qualifications. To this end, hospital directors must form internal committees and consult with nursing department heads.
Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital is discussing ways to identify shortages in each medical department and request cooperation from the nursing department. This means actively utilizing Physician Assistant (PA) nurses to minimize disruptions in medical services.
Earlier, directors of large hospitals sent messages to residents who left the hospitals due to collective action, urging them to return. On the 1st, Park Seung-il, director of Seoul Asan Medical Center, sent a message to affiliated residents saying, "I earnestly ask you to prioritize the patients who rely on you."
Lee Hwa-sung, Vice President for Medical Affairs and Director of the Catholic University Medical Center, also requested residents at hospitals under the Catholic Central Medical Center on the same day, saying, "As the head of the institution, I apologize and ask you to think of the calling we have upheld and the patients who have trusted and relied on us, and to promptly return to your respective medical sites."
The message was delivered via email and text to residents at eight hospitals under the Catholic Central Medical Center, including Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital, Yeouido St. Mary’s Hospital, Uijeongbu St. Mary’s Hospital, Bucheon St. Mary’s Hospital, Eunpyeong St. Mary’s Hospital, Incheon St. Mary’s Hospital, St. Vincent’s Hospital, and Daejeon St. Mary’s Hospital.
Meanwhile, on the same day, the KMA Emergency Response Committee held a ‘National Doctors’ General Rally to Stop the Increase in Medical School Quotas and the Essential Medical Package’ near Yeouidaero in Seoul, strongly condemning the government’s policy to increase medical school admissions. Kim Taek-woo, chairman of the KMA Emergency Committee, warned, "If the government ignores doctors’ efforts and instead tries to suppress them, it will face strong national resistance."
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