Mass Resignation Crisis at Asan Medical Center: Updates and Impact on Healthcare Services

2024-02-26 03:33:45
The emergency medical center at Asan Medical Center in Seoul on the morning of the 26th, where the mass resignation of residents who protested the government’s increase in medical schools has continued for a week. / Yonhap News

It was revealed on the 26th that more than 10,000 medical residents submitted their resignations. The government announced to residents who return to work by the 29th that “we plan to take into account as much as possible any violations of the current law.”

As a result of the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s inspection of 100 major teaching hospitals at 7 p.m. on the 23rd, it was confirmed that 10,034 residents (80.5%) submitted resignation letters. Not all resignation letters were accepted. Among them, 9,006 residents (72.3%) were found to have left their workplace.

As of 6 p.m. on the same day, there were 38 new cases of damage reported to the Doctors’ Collective Action Damage Reporting and Support Center. Delays in surgery were the most common with 31 cases, followed by 3 cases of refusal of treatment, 2 cases of cancellation of treatment appointments, and 2 cases of delayed hospitalization.

Park Min-soo, the second vice minister of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, said to the residents who submitted their resignation letters, “We ask you to return to work by the 29th. If you return to the hospital by then, we will not hold you responsible for the past.” He continued, “Starting in March, it is inevitable that license suspensions of at least three months and related judicial procedures will be carried out for those who have not returned in accordance with laws and principles,” and “Additional judicial processes, such as investigation and prosecution, will also be inevitable.”

The Ministry of Health and Welfare announced on this day that it has decided to implement a ‘medical care support personnel pilot project’ so that medical support nurses who are covering the medical gap caused by the departure of medical residents can work stably while being legally protected. Vice Minister Park said, “This is being implemented in accordance with the Framework Act on Health and Medical Services.” The Ministry of Health and Welfare plans to provide guidelines for the pilot project on this day and implement it starting on the 27th.

According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, 392 (96%) of the 409 emergency medical institutions are operating normally. 45 public medical institutions are operating extended treatment hours, and 12 emergency rooms at military hospitals are also providing emergency treatment to the general public.

Vice Minister Park said, “Although hospitalizations and surgeries for mild patients at tertiary general hospitals have decreased somewhat, we are operating with a focus on severe cases to ensure that critical patient surgeries and intensive care unit admissions are maintained.” He added, “The decline rate in outpatient treatment at tertiary general hospitals is around 2.5%. He said, “It is being operated without any major changes even following the action.”

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