Welfare Minister: "Medical Reform is Absolutely Necessary for the People... Will Complete It Without Hesitation"

Cho Kyu-hong, Minister of Health and Welfare, stated on the 18th that medical reform is a "necessary task" and vowed to complete it without wavering.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the same day, Minister Cho presided over the Central Accident Response Headquarters (CARH) meeting for the doctors' collective action, saying, "Medical reform is a necessary task to protect the lives and health of the people by strengthening regional and essential medical services and preparing for future medical demands," and added, "We will fully gather reasonable opinions from all sectors and complete the medical reform without hesitation."

Minister Cho's remarks drew attention as they reaffirmed the government's commitment to advancing medical reform after the general election.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare reviewed the status of emergency medical system operations and the doctors' collective action at the CARH meeting that day.

On the 17th, the number of inpatients at tertiary general hospitals was 24,385, an increase of 16.8% compared to the average of the previous week. The number of patients admitted to intensive care units in tertiary general hospitals was 2,885, up 2.4% from the previous week.

Among 408 emergency rooms, 394 (97%) operated without reducing beds. Fourteen regional emergency medical institutions displayed "treatment restriction" messages for some of the 27 severe and emergency diseases.

The Ministry explained, "We are closely monitoring whether the prolonged doctors' collective action is reducing the treatment capacity of medical institutions, and we are continuously strengthening emergency treatment measures to prevent gaps in care for severe and emergency patients."

While expanding support for substitute personnel such as public health doctors, military doctors, and senior doctors, the Ministry is conducting training for nurse assistants and collecting treatment capacity information from 47 cancer treatment cooperative hospitals to enhance information sharing by enabling tertiary general hospitals to access this data through information systems.

The Ministry stated, "We are gathering field opinions on medical reform through meetings with patient groups, medical societies, and pharmaceutical organization leaders, as well as site visits," and added, "This afternoon, we will hold the 7th Medical Reform Forum under the theme 'The Role of Nursing Staff in Strengthening Essential Medical Services,' continuing to strengthen communication with all sectors."