Most vulnerable patients hit hardest amid gov't and medical sector standoff

Patients in critical condition or with severe illnesses are being hit the hardest by the ongoing clash between the government and the medical sector over the medical school quota expansion. Patients hold both sides responsible for the medical crisis.

Rescue workers transfer an emergency patient.

Patients in critical condition or with severe illnesses are being hit the hardest by the ongoing clash between the government and the medical sector over the medical school quota expansion. Patients hold both sides responsible for the medical crisis.

A man in his 20s sought help through the 119 emergency hotline after a motorcycle accident in Haman, South Gyeongsang around 6:47 p.m. on Tuesday.

The emergency team contacted 48 regional medical centers, only to be rejected by all of them.

Ajou University Hospital finally accepted the patient at 9:49 p.m., and rescue workers drove the patient two hours and 40 minutes to get to the hospital’s trauma center in Suwon, Gyeonggi.

Emergency patients are experiencing a shortage of medical care as the junior doctors' massive walkout approaches its two-month mark.

The patient was suffering from multiple severe injuries, with an injury severity score of 16. An injury severity score of 15 is considered severe. He had a 30 cm (11.8 inches) open wound on his femur, more than two-thirds of his femoral muscles torn and an open femur fracture.

He was in life-threating danger as several blood vessels, including the femoral artery, were ruptured, bleeding nonstop.

The patient was treated at 12:30 a.m. the following day, but medical officials warned that the delay in treatment raised the risk of leg necrosis, which could lead to complications such as multiple organ failure and blood poisoning.

Cancer patients also voiced concerns as university hospitals cut back on surgeries by half due to a shortage of medical staff.

A patient scheduled for tumor removal at a major hospital in Seoul later this month was informed that the surgery would be postponed indefinitely unless the medical vacuum resolved by mid-April.

Delays in surgery are increasingly common.

A renal cancer patient unleashed his outrage online, saying “I received a call from the hospital where I was scheduled for surgery, but they told me they couldn't perform it because the anesthesiologist refused to cooperate.”

A surgeon at one of Korea's five largest hospitals underscored the severity of the current situation.

“Although we have reduced surgeries since the junior doctors' mass walkout, the next five months are fully booked with operations. Many patients have been waiting for a long time,” he said.

The hospital the surgeon works at currently prioritizes operations for cancer patients in stage 3 and 4. The doctor warned that by doing so, cancer patients at early stages might be jeopardized, as "their conditions can worsen after five or six months.”

A man in his 50s visited a large hospital after being diagnosed with a brain aneurysm, which is a bulge or ballooning in a blood vessel in the brain, only to be told to seek another medical center because the hospital was unable to help him.

His nephew expressed frustration, saying, “I never expected a major hospital to turn us away.” The man's family is still currently searching for an available medical institution for his treatment.

A recent surge in deaths as hospitals turn urgent patients away, citing lack of medical staff, is causing growing concern among patients.

Two aortic dissection patients in southeastern Korea died after struggling to find an hospital. A 33-month-old girl and a woman in her 70s in North Chungcheong also died for similar reasons.

The government is investigating whether the health centers' refusals are linked to the prolonged departure by trainee doctors.

The medical community denied any connection.

“It's been 20 years since the cardiothoracic department depended on trainee doctors; they do not apply to work in this specialty. Emergency centers rejecting critical patients has nothing to do with the staff shortage caused by junior doctors' resignations,” the Korean Society of Emergency Medicine said.

Patients and their families blame both the doctors and the government for the current medical disaster.

A mother of an aortic dissection patient who passed away last month said, “It’s disheartening that the chances of my daughter's survival might have decreased due to the medical absence, although we cannot guarantee that she would have survived if she had been treated immediately.”

A family member of another aortic dissection patient who died on April 11 said, “While I sincerely thank the doctors who operated the difficult surgery for her, I hate the government for not drawing up measures to ensure that at a minimum, emergency patients are treated quickly.”

Kwon Yong-jin, a professor at the Seoul National University International Healthcare Center, said it was "unclear that transferring patients in emergency or critical conditions became more challenging after trainee doctors left their posts in February." Instead, he focused on the postponement of scheduled surgeries as a critical issue.

Kwon also highlighted cooperation in addressing the emergency center crisis.

“Fundamental issues in the medical system, such as doctor shortages in fields seen as lower-paying and a concentration of doctors in urban areas, are often found in emergency departments. Local governments, general hospitals in rural areas and local communities must work together to address the breakdown of emergency medical services.”

BY SHIN SEONG-SIK,CHAE HAE-SEON,MOON SANG-HYUK,NAM SOO-HYUN,WOO JI-WON [woo.jiwon@joongang.co.kr]