south korea: nurses call off strike 'at the last minute'
2024-09-12
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on august 28, in seoul, south korea, members of the korean nursing association prayed for the passage of the medical care act. the bill will provide a legal basis for physician assistant nurses to practice medicine. image source: visual china
comprehensive compilation wang zi
in south korea, the "gap" in medical services caused by the collective resignation of interns and residents has almost been torn into a larger "gap". recently, the korean health care union, which represents medical staff such as nurses, pathologists, and physical therapists, announced that they will also launch a large-scale strike.
earlier, the korean health care workers' union called on about 30,000 union members from 61 hospitals to vote, with a turnout of 81.66%, of which 91.11% were in favor of the strike. "both the turnout and the approval rate were high... this shows the urgency of the needs of union members." members of the organization said that they had a number of demands, including restoring normal medical services as soon as possible, prohibiting the responsibility of striking doctors from being transferred to other medical staff, and raising wages by 6.4%.
south korea's medical crisis has lasted for more than half a year, and if the nurses' strike is added, the situation is bound to be worse. however, according to the korea times, medical staff from 59 hospitals canceled their strike plans at the "last minute" because the national assembly passed a bill promising to provide better legal protection for nurses.
the newly passed medical care act clearly defines the scope of work of physician assistant nurses and provides a legal basis for them to practice medicine. as early as june next year, korean physician assistant nurses will be qualified to practice medicine legally.
this year, due to frequent conflicts between the medical community and the government in south korea, many medical staff have complained that their working environment has become unstable. a nurse at a general hospital in busan told the hankyoreh: "since march this year, i have been suddenly asked to take charge of the work of a physician assistant. i participated in the operation without any training, doing unskilled work, and the scope of my work has gradually expanded, which makes me feel uneasy."
a surgeon at a large general hospital in seoul said, “after the interns and residents left (due to the strike), the nurses have been responsible for more and more things.” “it is very common for nurses to be asked to take unpaid leave or be transferred to become physician assistants without asking their wishes.” song eun-ok, director of the korea university medical center branch of the korean health and medical workers union, said, “everyone is working hard and is very dissatisfied.”
according to data released by the korea fire and disaster management agency on september 4, requests for help from the emergency rescue management center to find emergency beds increased by 131% year-on-year from february to july this year. this is mainly due to the shortage of emergency room staff and the increasing number of people being refused treatment.
on the same day, park min-soo, vice minister of the ministry of health and welfare, admitted in a program of the korean cultural broadcasting corporation that emergency rooms in hospitals across the country were facing difficulties in operation and patients were frequently refused. however, he said that the government had "full control of the situation" and had introduced policies to disperse patients and dispatch military doctors, and was confident that the difficulties would be overcome.
in previous years, the consultation fees of emergency department specialists in south korea would increase by an average of 150% during the mid-autumn festival. this year, the figure will increase significantly. the south korean government has designated september 11 to 25 as the "mid-autumn emergency response period", and the consultation fees of emergency department specialists are expected to increase by 250%. park min-su said that the government will promote the sharing of human resources among hospitals in various regions and strive to serve critically ill and emergency patients.
even though the government has introduced policies such as subsidizing medical personnel and dispatching military doctors, the medical gap will still be difficult to fill as a large number of doctors refuse to return to work.
at a national policy briefing on august 29, south korean president yoon seok-yeol talked about the doctors' strike. he said that "reforms will inevitably lead to resistance" and he will withstand the pressure and firmly promote the expansion of medical schools. "i will not take the easy way. i firmly believe that i will achieve the four major reforms (including medical reform) as promised to the people."
according to the hankook ilbo, cho seung-rae, chief spokesman of south korea's largest opposition party, the democratic party of korea, criticized yoon seok-yeol for ignoring the anxiety and pain brought to the people by the livelihood and medical crisis, and did not apologize at the national policy press conference; south korea's social welfare is currently in the worst state, "but the president acts like he lives alone in another country."
in fact, the south korean government is not completely "non-negotiable" on the issue of expanding medical school enrollment. according to yonhap news agency, the special committee on medical reform directly under the south korean president said on august 30 that it plans to set up a "simulation center" next year to predict the supply and demand of medical personnel. if the medical community participates and proposes a "reasonable plan", the government is willing to negotiate on the number of medical school enrollments in 2026.
on september 5, park min-su once again expressed his welcome for the medical community to cooperate with the special committee on medical reform, bring "reasonable plans" regarding the expansion of medical school enrollment in 2026, and "negotiate with an open attitude" with the government.
on september 8, the korean medical association responded that if the government wants to cooperate, it should cancel the expansion plans for 2025 and 2026 and start discussing the expansion plan from 2027; "rushing to expand enrollment" is the problem; if the government wants to reasonably promote medical reform, "expansion" cannot be rushed.
source: china youth daily client
