Protesting nurses delay medical procedures, jam up traffic

The emergency room of Korea University Guro Hospital in Seoul was turning away new patients Thursday, citing staff shortages as 200 nurses, roughly 30 percent of the hospital’s nursing staff, left to attend the strike.

Union members of the Korean Health and Medical Workers’ Union takes up the street in downtown Seoul on Thursday demanding that the government speed up in improving working conditions. It is the union’s first strike in nearly two decades.

Hospitals curtailed medical services and postponed surgeries Thursday as nurses took to the streets, braving torrential downpours to demand better working conditions.

The two-day strike by the Korean Health and Medical Workers’ Union (KHMU) is its first in nearly two decades.

The organizer estimated 45,000 members of attending the rally.

The emergency room of Korea University Guro Hospital in Seoul was turning away new patients Thursday, citing staff shortages as 200 nurses, roughly 30 percent of the hospital’s nursing staff, left to attend the strike.

Other hospitals suffered similar difficulties, including National Medical Center in Jung District, central Seoul.

“If you didn’t make a reservation, you can’t see a doctor,” a hospital employee told people entering the building.

Some 1,000 of the hospital's 1,700 employees are union workers.

The protests congested traffic in downtown Seoul.

The KHMU is demanding better working conditions for nurses, including the enactment of a law to limit the number of patients assigned to a single nurse to five.

The union argues that while a single nurse at tertiary general hospitals handles an average of 2.7 patients, the actual number can rise to 10.8 depending on certain conditions.

For general hospitals, nurses attend to an estimated 10.9 patients on average. Conditions at smaller hospitals are much worse, with nurses caring for 47.2 patients on average.

The nurses argue that the unbearable workload is driving many out of the profession.

A KHMU survey found that 82 percent of nurses were in their 20s and 30s, and 35.7 percent had five years or less of experience. Only 23 percent had 10 or more years of experience.

The government warned it will take firm action if unionists commit illegal acts during the rally.

“We will ensure that the Korean Health and Medical Workers’ Union can exercise their rights,” said Health Minister Cho Kyoo-hong on Thursday. “However, if the rally deviates from legitimate acts of protest and inflicts major harm to the people’s life and health, we will take firm action accordingly to the law and principle.”

The minister said it was unjustified for the union to go on strike at the same time as the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions.

The Health and Welfare Ministry says it has been working to improve the health and medical industry according to advice from experts and industry participants.

“We ask that the [Korean Health and Medical Workers’ Union] withdraw from joining the KCTU in its strike and return to the caring of patients,” Cho said.

BY LEE HO-JEONG, AHN DAE-HOON [lee.hojeong@joongang.co.kr]