A woman cries as she participates in a press conference organized by patient associations on June 13, 2024, in front of the National Assembly in western Seoul, to ask doctors to scrap their strike plans.
SEOUL, June 13 (Yonhap) — Facing growing desperation amid a prolonged strike by trainee doctors, patients criticized doctors Thursday for planning a broader strikenext week, and urged the Government to enact a law to prevent the recurrence of collective actions by medical staff.
A total of 92 patient associations made the call during a joint press conference in front of the National Assembly in Seoul, after the Korea Medical Association (KMA), a major group of pressure from doctors, decided to go on strike on June 18, in an action that could involve community doctors and medical professors.
“We express our deep concern over the planned strike by the KMA and the decision to indefinitely suspend hospital operations by professors at Seoul National University Hospital,” the groups said in a joint statement.
They also said that, over the past few months, patients have suffered greatly due to the prolonged vacuum of medical services, adding that patients are waiting for a solution, but, rather, they have witnessed another “strike plan”, which is “pushing into the abyss.”
The move is feared to deepen disruption in the medical system, which is already reeling due to the strike by trainee doctors, who have walked off the job since February in protest against the government’s medical reform plans, linked to increasing the admission fee in medical schools.
Patient groups also criticized doctors at hospitals affiliated with Seoul National University (SNU) for asking patients to postpone bookings for medical treatment.
Senior doctors from four major SNU-affiliated hospitals have vowed to indefinitely suspend their hospital operations, effective June 17, in support of striking trainee doctors.
Patients also demanded that the Government legalize the use of medical assistance personnel in hospitals during emergency situations to minimize harm to patients, and enact a law to ensure the normal functioning of essential medical services. .
There have been attempts to amend the medical law, which prohibits physician assistants from working in such crucial fields as pediatrics, obstetrics and emergency medicine, but no progress has been made.
Despite fierce opposition, the Government last month finalized the increase in the admission quota for medical schools – by around 1,500 places – in an effort to address the shortage of doctors. It was the first increase of its kind in 27 years.
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