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Mar. 29  2024
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Patients Battered by Medical Service Crisis _ As Doctors Strike Continues

Patients were severely battered by a health-care service crisis yesterday as doctors, interns and residents intensified their strike over a medical reform plan.

Source  :  Korea Times

Patients were severely battered by a health-care service crisis yesterday as doctors, interns and residents intensified their strike over a medical reform plan.

General hospitals refused to accept new patients and canceled appointments on surgical operations as more than 1,000 doctors joined the walkout by 12,000 interns and residents on Monday.

Some hospitalized patients were forced to go home earlier than expected because of an acute lack of medical personnel following the collective action.

About 3,000 among a total of 20,000 medical practitioners running clinics also staged strike for the seventh consecutive day on Tuesday in nine major cities and provinces, including Seoul, Inchon, Kyonggi-do, Kangwon-do and Chungchong-pukto.

They called for more roles and rights for them as well as higher income, urging the government to postpone the reform program which bans doctors from selling drugs to outpatients.

Hundreds of clinic doctors practicing medicine in Pusan, Taegu, Taejon, and Cheju-do threatened to join the collective action today.

In this situation, patients, their families and citizens lodged strong complaints against the strike, criticizing that doctors, interns and residents were taking people's lives hostage to put forward their demands.

``I believe doctors went too far in staging collective action at the sacrifice of patients. They apparently do not care if patients die due to failure to receive proper treatment,'' a patient suffering heart problems complained.

In Kwangju, a patient was found dead after he could not get immediate surgery to remove a stone in his bladder. It was reported that the victim, identified as Park, 50, was taken to a hospital on July 27 and was waiting for the surgery.

He was supposed to have received the surgery on Aug. 2, which was postponed to Aug. 8 due to a malfunction of medical equipment. He died of complications on Sunday.

Family members of the victim claimed that Park had wanted to undergo surgery immediately at another hospital, but that the doctor there did not consent, saying that the doctors were on strike.

In Seoul, a large number of patients rushed to Seoul National University Hospital as they could not consult clinic doctors amid the strike.

The hospital experienced difficulties in providing proper care to the patients as some 180 doctors joined the strike by interns and residents, forcing 260 medical professors to take care of patients.

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