[Exclusive] Outpatient Services Halted Due to Resident Resignation... Severance "Ophthalmology Consultations Not Possible"

Hospital "Difficult to conduct preliminary exams due to resident resignations"
Patient "Booked a year ago but couldn't get medication prescribed"

Cases of surgery and hospitalization cancellations or delays are emerging due to the collective resignation of residents (interns and residents) at the large general hospitals known as the 'Big 5,' and it has been confirmed that general outpatient treatments are also being canceled or postponed. The government had anticipated that outpatient care would not be affected even if collective action by residents occurred, but as residents, who are key personnel in the medical field, collectively leave, outpatient care is also facing disruptions.

According to the medical community on the 20th, the Ophthalmology Department at Severance Hospital sent notification messages to patients with scheduled appointments stating that outpatient treatment is not possible due to the suspension of resident care.

The Ophthalmology Department at Severance Hospital explained, "Due to the resignation of residents at a metropolitan area tertiary hospital, it is difficult to proceed with general treatment, and scheduled appointments cannot be honored. Currently, treatment is not possible even if you visit the hospital, so please request a rescheduling once the hospital returns to normal operation."

Severance Hospital was the first among the Big 5 hospitals to enter collective action. Some residents, including first- to third-year pediatric residents, submitted resignation letters and left the medical field the day before, and surgeries were reduced to less than 50% of the usual volume due to the absence of anesthesiology residents. Until the previous day, the hospital stated that "outpatient care and emergency rooms are operating normally," but it has been identified that some outpatient treatments are also being affected depending on the situation in each department.

A hospital official said, "Outpatient care may be canceled for treatments requiring preliminary tests or examinations." In particular, in ophthalmology, preliminary examinations are often conducted by residents, so the departure of residents from the medical field may cause disruptions in outpatient care as well.

On the 19th, concerns over a "medical crisis" due to collective opposition from doctors, including the mass resignation of residents from the five major hospitals in Korea in protest against the government's expansion of medical school quotas, were growing. The photo shows a university hospital in downtown Seoul. Some residents in departments such as Pediatrics at Severance Hospital decided to stop working and submitted their resignation letters a day earlier. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

Residents assist professors with surgeries and treatments and check the condition of hospitalized patients. They also mainly handle preliminary examinations. However, due to this strike, professors and clinical instructors (fellows) have to fill in for the residents' duties. Even if fellows or professors take over residents' duties and on-call shifts, the workload increases to the point that conducting preliminary examinations becomes difficult, ultimately causing disruptions in outpatient care.

As cases of cancellations extend beyond surgeries and hospitalizations to general outpatient treatments, patients' concerns are growing. Yoon, who had an appointment at the hospital's ophthalmology department but received a cancellation notice, said, "I had made the appointment a year ago and was scheduled for outpatient treatment this Friday (the 23rd). I am worried about how to get the urgently needed medication."

As the suspension of work by residents at the Big 5 hospitals becomes visible from the 20th, it is expected that other large hospitals will follow Severance Hospital in canceling or postponing outpatient treatments. A representative from one of the Big 5 hospitals said, "Depending on the strike situation today, outpatient care may be reduced."

The Ministry of Health and Welfare has stated that if problems arise in outpatient care due to collective action by doctors, they will resolve the issue through 'non-face-to-face treatment.' Jeong Tongryeong, head of the Central Emergency Medical Situation Room of the Central Accident Response Headquarters for doctors' collective action, said at a briefing the day before, "Even if residents at major tertiary hospitals leave the field, it is judged that cases affecting outpatient care will be rare. If such collective action prolongs and causes problems in outpatient care, we will resolve this through non-face-to-face treatment."