Military doctors reject emergency room duty amid healthcare crisis

Military doctors dispatched to a university hospital to fill emergency room (ER) gaps have refused to work and returned to their original posts.

According to Ewha Womans University Mokdong Hospital, three military doctors assigned to the hospital returned to their original posts on Thursday morning, declining to work in the emergency room.

The hospital said these military doctors were deployed without prior notification about their ER duties, which has caused outrage among the hospital staff.

"This shows that the government's policy is nothing more than a show," a hospital official told Korea Biomedical Review. "While the government claimed they had coordinated with the military doctors about ER duties, the latest event shows that it was a unilateral notification."

The latest event follows the government's decision to deploy military doctors as part of its effort to address the severe staffing shortages in hospital emergency rooms.

The upcoming Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving Day) holiday is expected to strain the already stressed healthcare system further. Some hospitals, like Yeouido St. Mary's Hospital in Seoul, are considering suspending nighttime emergency room operations during the holiday period.

In response, the government announced the deployment of 15 military doctors to various university hospitals experiencing difficulties in operating their emergency rooms on Wednesday. This included three doctors at Ewha Womans University Mokdong Hospital, five at Kangwon National University Hospital, two at Chungnam National University Sejong Hospital, three at Ajou University Medical Center, and two at Chungbuk National University Hospital.

"Emergency rooms are in a very difficult situation as shortages of medical staff and accumulation of fatigue have become commonplace," the Second Vice Minister of Health and Welfare Park Min-soo said. "We will prepare additional measures to normalize emergency medical care."

According to Park, the government plans to deploy an additional 235 military doctors and public health doctors to emergency medical sites by next Monday.

However, the medical community has expressed skepticism about the effectiveness of deploying military doctors and public health doctors to address the current crisis.

"Deploying military doctors to emergency rooms presents several challenges," Professor Chung Hyun-jung at Konkuk University Medical Center told Korea Biomedical Review. "Non-emergency medicine specialists lack the four years of specialized training required to handle emergency situations effectively, resulting in a significant expertise gap."

Chung also explained that each hospital operates with unique systems and processes, requiring time for any new doctor to adapt fully - typically at least a month.

"Given the short-term nature of these deployments, military doctors may leave just as they're beginning to acclimate to their new environment," she said. "Additionally, there's a critical issue of liability."

In the event of patient complications, it's unclear how much legal protection these temporary doctors would receive from the hospitals, Chung added.

Chung stressed that this uncertainty could lead to overly cautious behavior, potentially compromising patient care.

"Considering these factors, I don't believe the deployment of military doctors will significantly alleviate the current crisis in our emergency rooms," she added.

Another emergency medicine professor agreed.

"Even if military doctors from other specialties or public health doctors are deployed, their work will inevitably be limited to tasks typically performed by interns," a doctor working at an emergency center in Seoul said. "It's also burdensome to train them when the hospital is already short-staffed."

It's frustrating to see the government still announcing that there's no major problem, he added.

The doctor stressed that he feels like he is on a sinking ship, knowing it's about to go down but still hanging on.

President Yoon visits regional emergency medical center

Amidst this crisis, President Yoon Suk Yeol made a surprise visit to Uijeongbu St. Mary's Hospital's emergency center on Wednesday, promising support for healthcare workers.

During a 1 hour and 20 minute visit, President Yoon acknowledged the challenges faced by the medical community and pledged government support.

"With the holiday season approaching, when emergency room demand increases, we will do our utmost to support doctors by prioritizing the allocation of available resources to prevent burnout," President Yoon said. "If necessary, we will arrange a reserve budget to provide support."

Addressing the broader issues in the healthcare system, President Yoon said, "I will strive to ensure that an appropriate compensation system for essential medical care, which involves high-intensity work and exposure to the risk of medical accidents, can be established as soon as possible."

Yoon also expressed regret over the current state of emergency medical care, stressing that emergency medical care seems to be the most crucial among essential medical services, and it's truly regrettable that the government hasn't been able to properly care for and assist it.

Amidst the ongoing crisis, the presidential office announced a new measure to monitor and support emergency medical services across the country.

According to the announcement, the office plans to deploy one senior presidential secretary to each of the 17 metropolitan cities and provinces' regional emergency medical centers.

"This initiative is designed for the secretaries to directly assess the situation in emergency medical sites ahead of the Chuseok holiday and report on necessary measures," the presidential office said.

However, this policy has already received backlash from the opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK).

"What exactly is the role of these secretaries? Are they there to keep tabs on the medical staff?" Rep. Park Joo-min, the chairman of the National Assembly's Health and Welfare Committee, wrote on his Facebook page. "Do they have qualifications as emergency medical technicians? Can they even perform CPR? Or will they be assessing the severity of patients' conditions and sending mild cases home?"

Park stressed that the emergency medical field is at its limit right now, and medical staff are physically unable to endure any longer.

"What this field needs are not secretaries, but medical personnel," Park wrote.