Gov’t injects billions of won into medical services as trainee doctors walk out

Amid the mass walkouts of more than 10,000 junior trainee doctors, the government is pouring billions of won to sustain health care services and gain momentum for medical reform in the long run.

Medical professionals and visitors enter into an emergency room at general hospital in Seoul on Thursday. [NEWS1]

Amid the mass walkouts of more than 10,000 junior trainee doctors, the government is pouring billions of won to sustain health care services and gain momentum for medical reform in the long run.

On Thursday, the Health Ministry announced that it would allocate 188.2 billion won ($141 million) monthly to compensate hospitals caring for critically ill patients, a day after the Cabinet decided to set a reserve of 128.5 billion won to cover understaffing problems at medical centers.

The ministry plans to use a portion of the 188.2 billion won budget to also reward board-certified doctors for treating patients in intensive care units.

"The reserve [made public on Wednesday] will be allocated to recruit replacements who can address the vacancies resulting from the strikes of junior doctors and to cover the labor expenses of those who undertake additional shifts and night shifts during emergencies,” said Lee Han-kyung, the Interior Ministry’s chief disaster management official during a Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters meeting in Sejong on Thursday.

“Each locality’s disaster management fund will subsidize public medical institutions’ labor expenses,” Lee said. “The government will not hesitate to properly compensate medical professionals who prioritize and stand by patients.”

Lee Han-kyung, the Interior Ministry’s chief disaster management official, presides over a Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters meeting at the government complex in Sejong on Thursday. [NEWS1]

“The national authorities will detail the measures to hike medical fees for emergency and high-risk operations and will accelerate the legalization process of the law that reduces the legal risks burdened by doctors,” Lee added.

Lee said the government will accomplish its medical reform and ultimately return the favor to the public.

The Health Ministry confirmed that a total of 11,219 junior trainee doctors from 100 major hospitals have either staged walkouts or decided to not renew their employment contracts as of 11 a.m. Wednesday.

Medical professionals are betting on the possibility of the strike getting prolonged due to junior trainee doctors filing for “resignations” instead of taking “leave of absence.”

Medical professionals walk inside a general hospital in Seoul on Thursday. [YONHAP]

Trainee doctors cannot land a new job when their resignations are not cleared. Additionally, hiring trainee doctors whose resignations are not processed is not permitted.

Junior doctors who left the hospital believed that they would be free to get another position as the civil law recognizes resignation a month after submission.

The government is arguing from an angle that fundamentally denies resignations. It said that resignations must be legitimately processed before junior doctors relocate themselves.

The authorities view that the civil law clause is not applicable to junior trainee doctors as they are technically working on a fixed term whereas the clause governs laborers on indefinite-term contracts.

The presidential decree prohibits junior trainee doctors from opening medical clinics and institutions. This restricts their chances of working or holding multiple positions at different hospitals unless approved by hospital heads or the health minister.

In addition, the government sees that the doctors' resignation cannot be valid as “stay-on-duty” orders were imposed before their submissions.

The Seoul Medical Association recently opened a new online recruitment board to help doctors staging walkouts. The government quickly nailed it down as “illegal.”

“The legal provisions spell out that trainee doctors should not work at hospitals other than the hospitals where they are trained at,” said Jun Byung-wang, the head of the Office for Planning and Coordination at the Health Ministry.

“The breach of the decree would account for another punishment [separate from license suspensions caused by their mass walkouts]. They could face imprisonment or fines if they write medical reports or issue prescriptions under others’ names,” Jun said.

On Thursday, the Health Ministry also unveiled a supplementary guideline which sets a clear line on duties and performances that nurses can perform.

The guideline allows nurses to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation, or CPR, and to administer medications in case of emergency.

It differentiates nurses into three categories according to their licenses and skills: professional, specifically-tasked and regular nurses.

Professional and specifically-tasked nurses can prescribe medicines and order examinations. They can also draft the medical documentation required for hospital transfers and surgery consent forms.

The guidance will be applied to nurses at large and at general hospitals with trainee doctors.

BY LEE SOO-JUNG, JANG JOO-YOUNG [lee.soojung1@joongang.co.kr]