Mayor Oh Se-hoon's Pledge Project... Providing 1,250 Cases Monthly on Average
From Hospital Departure to Medical Reception, Payment, and Pharmacy Visit
Government and Other Local Governments Compete to Benchmark... Improvement Efforts Underway
The 'Seoul City Hospital Safe Companion Service' for Seoul citizens who find it difficult to travel to hospitals has recorded a cumulative usage of 45,000 cases in three years since its launch. The total usage time reached 150,000 hours, and the service satisfaction rate was 92.9%. Based on the data so far, Seoul City plans to improve the service by deploying managers by region.
On the 20th, Seoul City announced that the 'Hospital Safe Companion Service,' a pledge of Mayor Oh Se-hoon in the 8th term of the civilian government, achieved a cumulative usage record of 45,001 cases over three years since the project started in November 2021. Previously, Mayor Oh set a goal to provide a total of 35,000 services over three years, so this achievement exceeded the target by about 29%.
The Hospital Safe Companion Service is a one-on-one matched companion manager service that assists throughout the entire process from departure to the hospital until returning home. The companion accompanies not only hospital transportation but also medical reception, payment, and pharmacy visits. It is available to any Seoul citizen who finds it difficult to receive help from family members, including single-person households, elderly households, and grandparent-grandchild families. Currently, the Hospital Safe Companion Service is recognized as a flagship policy supporting vulnerable groups in Seoul and is being benchmarked by the Ministry of Health and Welfare as well as local governments such as Gyeonggi-do, Gangwon-do, and Busan City.
Seoul City analyzed the usage status over the past three years and revealed that 62% of users, or 6 out of 10, were single-person households. The elderly aged 65 and over accounted for the largest share at 77%, followed by middle-aged groups at 21%. Among users, 48.6% applied for the service to accompany medical treatment. This was followed by dialysis at 29.8% and examinations at 8.4%. Limiting to citizens who use the service more than once a month, dialysis accounted for 47.9% and rehabilitation 11.7%.
The service satisfaction rate was 92.9%. In particular, satisfaction was high for 'practical help in hospital use (95.7%)', 'timeliness of service provision (94.6%)', and 'manager friendliness (94.7%)'.
Seoul City plans to provide a more advanced service next year by reflecting the analysis of usage performance and business effects over the past three years, as well as user feedback, based on various big data held by the Seoul Institute and the city. Using 10 million data points on Seoul citizens and welfare conditions, the city will analyze regions with high hospital usage, age groups, household types, and travel distances to appropriately deploy managers by region and utilize this for service improvement.
Accordingly, Seoul City will recruit '2025 Seoul City Hospital Companion Service Operators' from the 29th of this month to the 13th of next month. Eligibility requires organizations or corporations with their main office in Seoul City and experience in operating hospital companion services or similar projects. Consortium forms are also allowed. Seong Jang-hoon, Director of Seoul City Welfare, said, "The Seoul City Hospital Safe Companion Service has established an essential medical safety net for single-person households, the elderly, and other citizens. We will continue to enhance user convenience so that citizens can easily and conveniently use the service when needed, and add various welfare supports to increase usage and satisfaction among more citizens."
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