[W Forum] Time to Check the Gaps in COVID-19 Response

Shin Hyun-young, Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker

The nationwide COVID-19 vaccination rate has reached 70%, bringing the transition to With COVID right before our eyes. However, there are still visible concerns, such as the recent death of a patient receiving home treatment due to the malfunction of the emergency transport system.

There is the "Swiss Cheese Theory." This theory suggests that just as holes in slices of cheese can align, repeated human errors in the medical system can lead to patient accidents. Conversely, it means that establishing safety systems to prevent accidents can also prevent patient deaths.

Over the past two years, how much effort have we put into advancing the COVID-19 response system? At this point, it is necessary to recall the case of 17-year-old Jeong Yu-yeop, who died from pneumonia not caused by COVID-19 in the early days of the pandemic.

He underwent fourteen COVID tests and received thirteen negative results, losing the golden time between COVID and non-COVID medical systems, which led to his death. This incident reveals several holes in the COVID response system.

First, the government’s guidelines, public health centers, and the 1339 call center had a system too fragile to take full responsibility for all patients. The method where patients and their guardians must decide on their own which hospital to visit is unsuitable for an infectious disease era.

Second, it is difficult to be certain whether the best medical care was provided at the hospital. When COVID-19 was not confirmed and medical staff were confused, no one can definitively say how the vulnerability of new medical personnel in March and the weaknesses of weekend emergency room admissions affected Yu-yeop’s prognosis.

Third, another hole was the refusal of ambulance support requests to transport a patient with respiratory distress, resulting in the failure to provide proper emergency measures, including oxygen supply, during the golden time.

In this era of infectious disease disasters, could a more systematized current COVID response system have saved 17-year-old Yu-yeop, who ultimately could not be saved? Is there now a medical usage guidance system established to quickly provide the best care to patients on the borderline between COVID and non-COVID? Yu-yeop’s story is also that of our family and friends around us.

By plugging these holes one by one, it is necessary to thoroughly review our medical system once again alongside the transition to With COVID, to ensure that no unjust harm comes to lives in the infectious disease era.

Shin Hyun-young, Member of the National Assembly, The Democratic Party of Korea