Cancer patients hit hard by medical turmoil, as surgeries plunged 16%

Cancer surgeries dropped sharply after trainee doctors left hospitals in protest of the government’s drive to increase the number of medical students.

From February to June, the number of cancer patients who underwent surgery at top general hospitals fell by more than 11,000 compared to the same period last year.

Rep. Kim Yoon of the opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) analyzed data on the status of cancer surgeries at tertiary hospitals submitted by the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service. He found that the number of patients who underwent cancer surgery at tertiary hospitals nationwide from February to June was 57,244, down 16.3 percent, or 11,181, year-on-year.

Cancer surgery patients decreased significantly at the “Big Five” hospitals. The five largest hospitals accounted for 75.1 percent of the total decrease in cancer surgery patients.

From February to June last year, 28,924 patients underwent surgery for cancer at the Big Five hospitals. However, during the same period, the number fell to 25,532 this year, a decrease of 8,392, or about 30 percent.

The number of patients who underwent cancer surgeries at tertiary general hospitals in the Seoul metro region from February to June was 44,949, down 8,828 from last year (48,877). In tertiary hospitals in the rest of the country, the number decreased by 2,353, from 19,548 to 17,195 during the same period.

“Even in the face of delays in the surgeries of cancer patients, in addition to failures to provide adequate care for severe and emergency patients, the government is sticking to its complacent stance that there is no healthcare void,” Rep Kim said. “Instead of announcing tinkering measures, the government should present more effective steps to prevent further patient damage.”