Resident Doctor at Sajik Holds Press Conference, "We Will Help Patients"
Assessing Risk of Delayed Treatment After Collecting Patient Information
Patient Group Says, "If You Have the Capacity to Volunteer, Return to the Field"
Some residents who collectively resigned in protest against the government's plan to increase medical school admissions have announced a project to help patients, but patients themselves are expressing opposition. Kim Sung-joo, president of the Korea Cancer Patient Rights Association, told Kukmin Ilbo on the 3rd, “The residents left the medical field, which caused the problem, so what kind of counseling do they think they can provide?” and criticized, “If they have the capacity to volunteer for patients who are on the brink of death, I want to tell them to return to the field.”
Ryu Okhada, a resident doctor who resigned from Daejeon St. Mary's Hospital, held a press conference in front of the Korea Medical Association in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, on the afternoon of February 29, demanding the government unify communication channels. [Image source=Yonhap News]
Ryu Ok-ha-da, a resident who resigned from Daejeon St. Mary’s Hospital, said at a press conference the day before, “Unlike the government, which unilaterally damages the medical system, we will implement alternatives that can alleviate patients’ discomfort and anxiety and provide practical help.” She also announced that this week, the Korea Consumer Organization, resigned residents, and professors will start the “National Cancer and Chronic Disease Patient Classification Project (NCTP).” The project involves collecting information on patients requesting treatment and contacting the professors who diagnosed those patients to assess the risk level due to treatment delays.
In response, Kim said, “A patient with a brain tumor has been waiting for over a month without receiving a second surgery, unable to eat and sustaining nutrition through a tube,” adding, “The surgery was scheduled for a week later, but now it has been over a month with no contact. Instead of spending time investigating patients, residents should go back to the field and treat patients immediately.”
On the 2nd, a notice for recruiting new residents is posted in a resident-only area within a university hospital in Seoul. [Image source=Yonhap News]
There are also evaluations that Ryu’s project is impossible to execute on an individual level. Ahn Ki-jong, president of the Korea Patient Organization Federation, told Kukmin Ilbo, “When the Ministry of Health and Welfare asked if it would be possible to transfer and treat patients who have not received chemotherapy or surgery, the answer was ‘not easy,’” and drew a line by saying, “How can an individual do what even the government cannot? I do not want to take an interest.” There is also the issue of whether an individual who has left the hospital can handle patients’ medical information.
As residents have been away from the medical field for over a month, attention is focused on whether actual meetings will take place, with President Yoon Suk-yeol expressing willingness to engage in dialogue with the residents consecutively. In a public address on the 1st, President Yoon said, “If the medical community brings more reasonable and rational measures, we can discuss them anytime.” The presidential office reportedly stated on the evening of the 2nd that “President Yoon wants to meet directly with the residents involved in the collective action to hear their stories.” However, the Korean Intern Resident Association, the residents’ collective body, has not made any particular statements.
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