National Assembly Public Administration and Security Committee Member Chaehyunil Discloses
Cases of Transport Distance Exceeding 30km Between Site and Hospital Increasing
Cases where ambulances took more than an hour to transport emergency patients to hospitals increased by 22% compared to last year.
On the 14th, Chae Hyun-il, a member of the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea, announced this after analyzing data submitted by the National Fire Agency. According to the data disclosed by Representative Chae, since the collective withdrawal of resident doctors from medical sites, the emergency medical system has not been operating normally. From March to August, there were 13,940 cases nationwide where the transport time between the emergency site and the hospital exceeded 60 minutes. This is a 22% increase from 11,426 cases during the same period last year.
As the medical gap prolongs, the number of large hospital emergency rooms ceasing operations is increasing. On the 2nd, an emergency patient waiting at the main entrance of a hospital in Seoul. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@
In particular, cases of delayed transport increased significantly in major cities. The number of patients whose transport took more than an hour increased 2.8 times in Daejeon, from 164 to 467 in one year. Following that, Daegu saw a 2.4-fold increase from 74 to 181, Seoul increased 1.8 times from 636 to 1,166, and Busan rose 1.7 times from 252 to 400. Cases of transport delays increased in all metropolitan local governments except Gwangju and Jeonnam.
Similarly, cases where the transport distance between the site and the hospital exceeded 30 km also increased. From March to August this year, the number of cases exceeding 30 km was 449 in Daejeon, 2.6 times last year's figure of 170. Seoul had 362 cases, 2.2 times last year's 161, and Daegu had 788 cases, 1.75 times the 451 cases from a year ago.
Regarding these analysis results, Representative Chae pointed out that the prolonged conflict between the medical community and the government over increasing medical school admissions has led to an increase in so-called 'emergency room spinning' cases, where ambulances spend a long time traveling greater distances to find hospitals that can accept patients. Representative Chae said, "The problem of 'emergency room spinning' has been confirmed numerically through the transport distance and time data between the site and hospitals by ambulances," and urged the government to promptly resolve the situation as recent severe medical crises have caused patients to miss the golden hour, increasing public anxiety.
Meanwhile, on the 14th, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo stated on his Facebook, "During the Chuseok holiday period, we will mobilize all available resources to ensure that there is no negligence in the emergency medical system and make our best efforts." Prime Minister Han also said, "Although conditions are not easy, our medical system is still firmly able to serve as a shield protecting the people." Regarding medical reform, he emphasized, "There may be various opinions, but we will listen humbly and firmly push forward and implement necessary measures for the people."
Prime Minister Han added, "Although Chuseok is a warm holiday to meet those we haven't seen for a long time, it is also a period when emergency patients increase more than usual," and appealed, "The government has designated the two weeks before and after Chuseok as the 'Chuseok Holiday Emergency Response Week' to prepare for emergency medical care during the holiday. We ask the public to show consideration by yielding emergency rooms and advanced hospitals to neighbors who are in more critical condition than themselves."
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