Any solutions to the medical crisis?

The government must present convincing measures to ease citizens’ deepening concerns.

The Korean Health and Medical Workers’ Union has announced that it will start a simultaneous strike at 61 large hospitals across the country on Thursday. The union represents nurses, their assistants and medical technicians. It decided to enter a general strike after 82 percent of its members participated in a vote last week and 91 percent of them supported the strike. The decision will most likely worsen the medical vacuum left by thousands trainee doctors who left their hospital in protest against the conservative administration’s abrupt decision to raise the medical school admissions quota over the next five years.

The union called for the “normalization of medical services as quickly as possible” as a precondition for them to return to their hospitals. The union came up with the demand to urge the government to quickly address the ongoing medical crisis. Six months have passed since trainee doctors left their hospital to oppose the government’s plan to increase the medical school quota by 2,000 annually over the next five years. After the departure of trainee doctors who endured the 80 hours of harsh work per week for low pay, hospitals had to downsize their treatment of patients. In the face of their rapid income reduction despite their fixed costs, many hospitals activated their emergency management system, recommended nurses take unpaid leave, and embarked on restructuring. The developments forced a number of medical workers, including nurses, to worry about their jobs.

Our hospitals face a colossal crisis. Following delayed surgeries and downscaled outpatient treatment, even emergency rooms suffered from a critical shortage of doctors. A pregnant woman had to deliver a child in an ambulance two weeks ago in North Chungcheong. The crisis with emergency rooms has started to spread to the capital region. A doctor practicing emergency medicine in Seoul compared the current medical situation to “a ticking time bomb,” adding that doctors’ burnout has become just a routine. To make matters worse, the five-day Chuseok holiday from Sept. 14 through 18, when families get together, is approaching fast.

Nevertheless, the government shows a lax response to the crisis. Health and Welfare Minister Cho Kyu-hong pleaded with the union to restrain from launching a general strike. Over the emergency room crisis, the government only repeats the mantra “we will do our best” to resolve the problem. We wonder if the government really has any reliable solutions, not just lip service.

The government must present convincing measures to ease citizens’ deepening concerns. Otherwise, the confusion at hospitals — and the public’s deepening distrust in the government — will only get worse.