Health and Medical Disaster Crisis Alert Raised to 'Severe' Level
Full Effort to Address Medical Sector General Strike and Treatment Gaps
Suncheon City, Jeollanam-do (Mayor Nogwan-gyu) announced on the 23rd that it has proactively established a "Regional Disaster Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (hereinafter referred to as the RDSCH)" with the mayor as the head, following the government's elevation of the health and medical disaster crisis alert level to the highest level, 'Severe.'
The city formed eight countermeasure teams within the RDSCH, including the Comprehensive Situation Team, Emergency Life Stability Support Team, and Rescue and Ambulance Support Team, creating an all-out response system in cooperation with public health centers and related departments.
Additionally, centered on the RDSCH, the city plans to fully cooperate with related organizations such as fire stations and police stations to respond to the total strike in the medical community and the resulting medical service gaps.
Since the 8th, the city has been operating an "Emergency Medical Countermeasure Situation Room" to respond to the total strike related to the increase in medical school admissions, and on the 17th, it urged six emergency medical institutions (one regional emergency medical center, three local emergency medical institutions, and two local emergency medical facilities) to ensure smooth emergency room operations and maintain the emergency medical system.
Furthermore, Suncheon Medical Center, a public medical institution, has extended outpatient services from the previous 6 PM to 8 PM since the 20th.
Meanwhile, among the 13 residents at Seonggarolo Hospital, a regional resident training hospital, eight (affiliated with Chonnam National University College of Medicine) left the medical field due to unauthorized absence starting on the 22nd. In response, the city immediately issued a work commencement order and conducted on-site inspections.
As of the 23rd, the residents have not returned, so the city is reissuing the work commencement order to encourage their return. If they fail to comply, criminal charges and administrative sanctions will be enforced according to relevant laws and guidelines.
In addition, the city conducted a comprehensive survey of 449 medical institutions, including hospitals, clinics, and pharmacies, and found no medical institutions currently closed. It is predicted that there will be no large-scale closures in the future.
Nevertheless, due to concerns about prolonged medical service gaps, the city stated it will strengthen communication with medical institutions and organizations and prepare rapid response measures for citizen damage situations.
Along with this, the city urged citizens with relatively mild symptoms to use nearby hospitals and clinics that are operating normally and plans to strengthen public promotion according to government policies.
A city official said, "We urge residents to return to the medical field as soon as possible for the life and safety of citizens," and added, "In preparation for prolonged medical service gaps, we will do our best to check the operation status of emergency medical institutions and operate the emergency medical system to minimize inconvenience to citizens."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
