2024-02-23 00:18:27
Prime Minister Han Deok-soo is speaking at a meeting of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters for Physicians’ Collective Action held at the Seoul Government Complex on the morning of the 23rd. /yunhap news
As doctors continue to take collective action, such as leaving hospitals, in opposition to the government’s policy of increasing the number of medical school students, Prime Minister Han Deok-soo announced on the 23rd, “We will increase the operation level of public medical institutions to the maximum.” He also announced that he would significantly expand emergency patient treatment fees and ease related regulations so that each hospital can hire new medical staff in place of residents who left. Non-face-to-face treatment, which had been limited due to opposition from doctors, will be fully expanded starting today.
Prime Minister Han presided over a meeting of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters to respond to group actions by doctors at the Seoul Government Complex this morning and unveiled a series of measures. Prime Minister Han said, “The damage to patients continues, and I am also concerned about the difficulties faced by the medical staff who remain in the hospital and are playing the role of two or three people,” and added, “We must minimize the damage to the public through a government-wide response.” .
Prime Minister Han said, “Related ministries and 17 cities and provinces will work together to launch an all-out response system,” adding, “We will extend the weekday treatment hours of all public medical institutions to the maximum possible and expand treatment on weekends and holidays. “We will maintain the 24-hour emergency room operation system as it is now,” he said. He also said, “We will open a new metropolitan emergency situation room in early March that controls the transfer and transfer of severe and critical patients, and we will focus on managing emergency patients so that they can receive treatment within the golden time.”
He continued, “We must also reduce the burden on hospital staff who remain in the hospital and protect patients,” and added, “To allow hospitals to hire additional temporary medical personnel, the fee for final treatment of severe and emergency patients will be greatly increased by two-fold, and related regulations will be strengthened.” “We will ease this to enable flexible operation of hospital personnel,” he said. He also said, “We will support public health doctors and military doctors. We hope that organizations with hospitals under their jurisdiction, such as the Ministry of Veterans Affairs, the Ministry of Employment and Labor, the Ministry of National Defense, and local governments, will do their best to respond to the medical gap by temporarily hiring replacement doctors such as external doctors or senior doctors. “We will actively provide financial support at the government level,” he said.
Prime Minister Han said, “Nevertheless, it may not be enough to cover all medical needs,” and urged the public, “I hope that those with relatively mild symptoms should use nearby hospitals and clinics that are operating normally, and that local governments provide sufficient guidance so that patients can do so.” . Prime Minister Han said, “Starting today, the government will fully expand non-face-to-face treatment so that people can receive general treatment more conveniently.”
Below is the full text of Prime Minister Han’s remarks.
Prime Minister Han Deok-soo’s collective action in the medical community has begun in earnest. As of February 22, as a result of inspections of the top 100 hospitals in terms of number of residents, a total of 8,900 residents submitted letters of resignation, and 7,800 of them left their workplace. Although some are returning, the absence of many residents from their workplace is prolonged. In addition, medical students are continuing to take leave and refuse classes, and the Medical Association is planning a large-scale downtown rally on Sunday and March 3rd.
Damage to patients continues. A total of 189 reports have been received at the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s damage reporting center, and the number is gradually increasing. Of course, there will be more difficulties than this in the actual field. We are even more concerned about the difficulties faced by the two or three medical staff remaining in the hospital. We must quickly stabilize the situation and minimize damage to the public through a government-wide response.
Accordingly, as of 08:00 today, the government raised the health and medical disaster alert level to ‘severe’, the highest crisis level, and formed a Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters chaired by the Prime Minister, and related ministries and 17 cities and provinces across the country worked together to make a pan-government effort. We will begin a response system.
First of all, we will increase the operation level of public medical institutions to the maximum. We will extend the weekday clinic hours of all public medical institutions to the maximum extent possible and expand weekend and holiday clinics. The 24-hour emergency room operating system will also remain the same. In addition, we will open a new metropolitan emergency situation room in early March in four regions to control the transfer and power supply of seriously ill and critical patients, and focus on managing emergency patients so that they can receive treatment within the golden time. These four locations are in addition to the currently installed metropolitan emergency situation room.
We must also reduce the burden on doctors, nurses, and hospital staff who remain in the hospital and protect patients.
In order to allow hospitals to hire additional temporary medical personnel, we have significantly doubled the fee for final treatment of severe and emergency patients, and we will ease related regulations to enable flexible operation of hospital personnel. We are assessing the manpower needs of hospitals where essential treatment such as serious or emergency surgery is delayed, and we will support public health doctors and military doctors. We ask that organizations with hospitals under their jurisdiction, such as the Ministry of Veterans Affairs, Ministry of Employment and Labor, Ministry of National Defense, and local governments, do their best to respond to the medical gap by temporarily hiring substitute doctors such as external doctors or senior doctors. Financial support will be actively provided at the government level.
Still, it may not be enough to cover all medical needs. Many people are cooperating, but we ask that those with relatively mild symptoms use nearby hospitals and clinics that are operating normally, and that local governments provide sufficient guidance so that patients can do so. Starting today, the government will fully expand non-face-to-face medical treatment so that people can receive general medical treatment more conveniently.
Unfounded information or fake news that distorts the truth and policy of the government’s medical reform is being shared on the Internet and social media. Delivering accurate and correct facts to the public is also an important responsibility of the government. We ask related ministries such as the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Ministry of Health and Welfare to do their best to explain the medical reform policy through various methods so that the public can properly understand it.
Lastly, I would like to express my sincere words to the medical community. The medical community would never want a situation where the people are suffering. The people still clearly remember your dedication and sacrifice in the field to overcome COVID-19. The collective action of the medical community is nothing more than an act that leaves a scar on the people’s memory and forgets the noble mission of medical professionals. In particular, illegal collective action is a dangerous method that can destroy young doctors’ dreams of becoming respected doctors. I hope that the results of the sweat that has been shed for a long time due to wrong choices do not disappear in an instant, and that we do not push young doctors into such danger.
We earnestly ask you to return to the side of the people and patients before it is too late. The government will communicate with you with an open mind at any time.
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