Eight out of 10 emergency medical institutions nationwide provide limited or no care for children needing emergency care.

According to data submitted by the Ministry of Health and Welfare to Rep. Jung Choun-sook of the Democratic Party of Korea, out of 409 emergency medical centers in Korea, only 92, or 22.5 percent, can provide pediatric emergency care around the clock without restrictions on time, age, or symptoms.

Out of the 317 hospitals that had difficulty providing pediatric emergency care, 25 could not treat pediatric emergency patients at all, and 292 could only provide limited care.

The main reasons included limited hours of operation, such as no night or holiday service, limited age of service, such as no service for newborns or children under 24 months of age, and limited treatment of certain symptoms and treatments, such as pediatric convulsions or foreign bodies in the trachea (requiring bronchoscopy).

In March, the ministry surveyed 409 emergency medical institutions to improve the current situation where many emergency medical centers restrict pediatric emergency care by identifying specific problems.

The survey revealed numerous situations where it was essentially impossible to accommodate emergency rooms due to a lack of doctors who could provide pediatric and emergency care at night and on holidays due to a drop in the number of pediatric specialists, a lack of beds and rooms in pediatric intensive care units, and a lack of pediatric doctors who could provide follow-up care (final treatment).

According to the Emergency Medical Service Act, emergency medical institutions must operate facilities, manpower, and equipment to treat emergency patients 24 hours a day, and must be prepared to treat emergency patients at any time, even on public holidays and at night.

Besides, the Enforcement Rules of the Emergency Medical Act, which define emergency symptoms and their equivalents, specify "pediatric emergency symptoms" separately from general emergency symptoms, such as pediatric convulsions and high fever of 38℃ or higher.

The same month, the ministry sent a letter to the local government's healthcare departments requesting to strengthen the management and supervision of emergency medical institutions related to the treatment of pediatric emergency patients, citing the provisions of the Emergency Medical Act.

However, none fo them have taken corrective measures in response.