Wait times for outpatients at nation's top university hospital double amid strike

Waiting times for outpatient treatment at Seoul National University Hospital have doubled, resulting in an average wait of 62 days before seeing a doctor.

Patients and their guardians wait for their appointment in a general hospital in Seoul on Oct. 1. [NEWS1]

Waiting times for outpatient treatment at Seoul National University Hospital have doubled, resulting in an average wait of 62 days before seeing a doctor.

According to data from 16 hospitals affiliated with national universities nationwide, which was submitted to Democratic Party Rep. Park Hee-seong, outpatients across the country waited an average of 23.8 days for appointments and treatments in June. This marks a 29 percent increase compared to an average wait time of 18.5 days between 2019 and 2023.

The longest wait was 62 days at Seoul National University Hospital in central Seoul, followed by 53.7 days at Gyeonggi-based Seoul National University Bundang Hospital.

The third longest wait time was 43.2 days at Chonnam National University Hospital in Gwangju, and the fourth was 28.8 days at Chonnam National University Hwasun Hospital in South Jeolla.

The wait time increased the most drastically at Seoul National University Hospital, jumping from 28.6 days over the previous five years to 62 days this June. The average wait time for outpatients at Seoul National University Bundang Hospital also increased by 76 percent in the same period.

Regional hospitals were no exception.

The average wait time at Kangwon National University Hospital in Gangwon increased by 75.9 percent, and that of Chungnam National University Sejong Hospital in the Chungcheong region increased by 67 percent.

The average appointment length, referring to the time a doctor spends on a single patient, was 7.4 minutes, similar to previous years.

The shortest appointment was at Pusan National University Hospital in Busan, at 4.9 minutes, while the longest was at Chonnam National University Hospital, at 11 minutes.

Doctors at Seoul National University Hospital spent around 6.3 minutes per outpatient appointment.

The data showed that delays and waits for hospitalizations and surgeries have slightly increased after the government announced an enrollment quota hike in medical schools, which prompted the resignations of junior doctors.

Except for Jeju National University Hospital, patients waited an average of 12.2 days for hospitalization in June, compared to 10.8 days in the previous five years.

BY LEE SOO-JUNG [lee.soojung1@joongang.co.kr]