Senior doctors at Korea University hospitals set to reduce patient treatment

Seoul, July 12 – Senior doctors at three major hospitals affiliated with Korea University are set to begin reducing treatment of non-critical patients from Friday to join walkouts by two other major hospitals in support of striking junior doctors.

The planned walkout by Korea University’s three hospitals — Anam Hospital, Guro Hospital, and Ansan Hospital — will not affect critically ill patients and emergency rooms, according to the university’s medical professors who serve as senior doctors at the hospitals, Yonhap news agency reported.

About 80 per cent of the professors voted in favour of the walkout, and they will take voluntary leave.

Medical professors at three major hospitals of Yonsei University have also been participating in a walkout since late last month, while those at Asan Medical Center have been cutting outpatient care since early July, blaming the government for causing disruptions in public health services.

Since late February, about 12,000 trainee doctors have left their worksites in protest of the government’s plan to boost the number of medical students. The walkout has put a strain on major hospitals because they heavily rely on junior doctors.

With the hike in the medical school admissions quota finalised, the government has taken steps to persuade trainee doctors to return to hospitals, including a decision to drop all punitive measures against them.

But junior doctors were largely seen as unresponsive. According to the health ministry, only 8 per cent of junior doctors at 211 training hospitals remained at their worksites as of Wednesday.