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| An inpatient enters Seoul National University Hospital in Seoul, Sunday./ Yonhap |
By Kim Se-jeong
Trainee doctors vowed Sunday to continue their ongoing strike in protest of the government's healthcare system reform plan, a move expected to pose a bigger threat to Korea in its response to COVID-19.
Representatives of interns and resident doctors met Saturday night for an overnight meeting to decide whether to continue the ongoing strike. The first round of a general vote among representatives didn't land on a majority decision, yet the second vote found 134 votes in favor of the strike, out of 186. Korea has about 13,500 trainee doctors.
The Minister of Health and Welfare quickly slammed the decision, calling it inconsiderate of the lives of 51 million citizens.
Also the ministry criticized the trainee doctors for their stubbornness.
"The move came after the government stepped back. The government proposed to scrap the plan in exchange for them returning to work and to start talking to doctors about the reforms after the pandemic crisis in Seoul metropolitan area subsides," according to the ministry's press release.
The trainee doctors' group was not available for comment.
The trainee doctors started the walkout on Aug. 21. On Aug. 26, the government ordered them to return to work, threatening to punish the violators. On Friday, the government filed complaints against 10 trainee doctors for the walkout.
Among the 10 was an intern who was in self-isolation after coming in contact with one confirmed COVID-19 patient, which triggered a backlash against the government from medical school professors who until then had been staying relatively silent.
About 100 professors at Seoul National University Hospital are joining the trainee doctors in their walkout on Monday for one week. The hospital said it will reduce the daily number of outpatients.
Separately, members of the Korea Medical Association (KMA) are planning another strike on Sept. 7 which will have no deadline. The KMA represents around 130,000 doctors across Korea and they just finished their previous three-day strike last Friday.
The government pushed to train an additional 4,000 doctors over the next 10 years by increasing medical school quotas and opening up a new medical school.
The tension between healthcare professionals and the government are taking a toll on the health of patients ― both COVID-19 and other.
The government is already experiencing a shortage of beds and healthcare professionals treating COVID-19 workers. Medical experts warned the healthcare system is on the brink of collapse.
On Friday, a Busan patient intoxicated with an unknown drug was driven around the city for almost 90 minutes while emergency personnel looked for a hospital that would accept him. He ended up in an ER in Ulsan university hospital, roughly an hour north of Busan, but reportedly he was in a coma when he arrived and didn't survive.
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