Posters Posted Throughout the Hospital
"We condemn the illegal strike resolution of the Medical Empire Governor-General's Office." As professors from Seoul National University College of Medicine and Hospital, along with other university hospital professors, have announced an indefinite suspension of work starting next week, the union at Bundang Seoul National University Hospital posted large protest notices condemning this throughout the hospital.
According to the medical community on the 11th, the union appealed in a notice titled 'The Lament of Hippocrates,' stating, "The only ones suffering from the suspension are the scheduled patients and colleagues."
This notice also included a passage from the Hippocratic Oath, which contains the ethics doctors must uphold: 'I will keep the laws of health that I consider to be in the patient's best interest, and will avoid anything harmful to body and mind. If I stray from or break this oath, the opposite shall be my fate.'
Earlier, on April 30th, when a one-day suspension occurred, the Bundang Seoul National University Hospital union also posted a notice stating, "A sneaky group suspension that drives patients and colleagues to the brink of death! Doctors who participated in the suspension must take responsibility for this situation."
According to Segye Ilbo, during that suspension, telephone reservation staff and outpatient nurses had to apologize to patients and suffered emotional labor while rearranging medical schedules. The union stated that although professors promised not to suspend work again, they are now discussing an indefinite suspension, which is causing confusion.
A union official told Segye Ilbo, "It is physically impossible to suspend work just one week in advance," expressing concern that "this could lead to an absurd situation where there are no professors in the consultation rooms, only patients waiting." They also criticized that the vicious cycle of having to reschedule appointments will continue, saying, "Even if schedules were changed from the time the indefinite suspension was announced, adjustment was impossible."
Bundang Seoul National University Hospital sees about 7,000 outpatients daily, and considering other examination schedules, approximately 20,000 cases would need to be rescheduled all at once.
The union reportedly instructed hospital staff not to cooperate with changes in medical schedules due to professors' suspension. This means they will no longer support the professors' unilateral decision to suspend work, and patients visiting the hospital amid uncertain schedules after the 17th are expected to face difficulties.
On the 7th, a statement urging the halt of the medical school expansion policy was posted at Seoul National University Hospital in Jongno-gu, Seoul. [Photo by Yonhap News]
Earlier, professors from Seoul National University College of Medicine and Seoul National University Hospital held an emergency meeting the previous day, where opinions were divided on whether to suspend work collectively, but ultimately decided to maintain the existing suspension plan. Additionally, the Emergency Response Committee (ERC) of Ulsan College of Medicine professors, affiliated with the so-called Big 5 hospitals (the five largest hospitals in Korea), including Seoul Asan Hospital and Samsung Seoul Hospital, decided to join the Korean Medical Association's suspension on the 18th. The Emergency Response Committee of Korea University College of Medicine, which includes Korea University Anam Hospital, Guro Hospital, and Ansan Hospital, also decided to participate in the Korean Medical Association's full suspension.
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