Six Major Policy Pledges for Public Healthcare
[Asia Economy Reporter La Young-cheol] Kim Dong-yeon, the Democratic Party of Korea candidate for Governor of Gyeonggi Province, announced the 'Six Major Public Healthcare Policy Pledges' on the 25th.
Candidate Kim plans to guarantee the basic medical rights of residents by establishing public medical centers, expanding public health medical personnel, investing in infrastructure, and building medical support systems for patients and their families.
In the northern and eastern regions of Gyeonggi, where medical infrastructure is insufficient, public medical centers will be established. After setting up a base public medical center in northern Gyeonggi, the plan is to gradually establish public medical centers or attract public hospitals in eastern Gyeonggi as well.
The newly established public medical centers will operate public postpartum care centers and public late-night children's hospitals together to support the medical convenience of nearby residents.
All cities and counties in Gyeonggi Province will be equipped with four essential public hospitals (public postpartum care centers, public late-night children's hospitals, specialized hospitals and nursing homes for the elderly, and emergency medical centers) to ensure the basic health rights of residents.
Additionally, pledges include launching a pilot project for the elderly primary care physician system, expanding home visit medical and nursing services, eradicating corruption in elderly nursing facilities, and improving service quality.
To expand public health medical personnel, hospitals above a certain size will be required to hire sufficient essential medical staff, and efforts will focus on reducing wage and welfare disparities among nursing personnel across regions.
To supplement the insufficient public healthcare, a network involving private hospitals centered on public hospitals will be established, and a linkage system with university hospitals will be prepared to strengthen the response capacity for critically ill patients.
To reduce the burden on patients and their families, the integrated nursing and caregiving bed service will be expanded, and institutional improvements such as establishing safety measures to protect the human rights of nursing and caregiving workers will be promised.
A '2032 Gyeonggi Province Health and Medical Development Committee' involving experts, local communities, and healthcare stakeholders will be established, and a '2032 Gyeonggi Province Health and Medical Development Plan' containing a 10-year plan will be formulated.
Candidate Kim Dong-yeon promised, "From now on, we will overcome crises with infrastructure, personnel, and systems," and "We will boldly invest in public healthcare to create a healthy society for patients, medical staff, and Gyeonggi residents alike."
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