Only 8.5% of emergency hospitals provide 24-hour pediatric treatment due to lack of follow-up care

Only 35 emergency medical institutions in Korea can provide pediatric care around the clock, data showed.

According to the “Survey on the Status of Pediatric Emergency Patient Treatment at Emergency Medical Centers” data submitted by the Ministry of Health and Welfare to Rep. Jeon Jin-sook of the Democratic Party of Korea, out of 410 emergency medical institutions, only 35, or 8.5 percent, can provide 24-hour pediatric treatment without time, age, or symptomatic limits.

The 35 emergency medical institutions belonged to eight tertiary general hospitals, 20 general hospitals, five hospitals, and two public health centers. Ten were large-sphere emergency medical centers, 13 were regional emergency medical centers, and 12 were local emergency medical centers. Three emergency medical centers specializing in pediatric patients were also included.

On the other hand, 54, or 13.2 percent of emergency medical centers, could not treat emergency pediatric patients. Three of these were tertiary care hospitals. One of the three hospitals that could not treat pediatric patients was also a large-sphere emergency medical center.

Three hundred and twenty-one emergency medical centers, or 78.3 percent of the total, could provide pediatric emergency care on a limited basis, depending on time, age, and symptoms.

Of them, 161 (39.2 percent) could provide emergency care for infants and toddlers, and 148 (36.0 percent) could do so only during weekdays. Some ERs said they could accept only mild pediatric cases, like simple abdominal pain.

Eleven ERs could not treat newborns, three could not treat infants under 100 days, 60 could not treat infants under 12 months, 68 could not treat infants under 24 months, and 19 could not treat infants under 36 months.

Most ERs cited a lack of on-call physicians as a reason for being unable to provide 24-hour pediatric care. Emergency medical institutions with pediatric specialists also fell far short of expectations.

Only 76 out of 410 ERs, or 18.5 percent, had a dedicated pediatric ER physician. That's one out of every five ERs with pediatric emergency care.

Slightly more than half (227, or 55.3 percent) of emergency medical institutions had a pediatrician on staff as an ER physician.

“Amid the prolonged medical crisis, pediatric patients are wandering around emergency rooms, but the government is only repeating that the emergency medical situation is similar to the previous year,” Rep. Jeon said. “The Yoon Suk Yeol administration, which cannot even protect public health and patient safety, must admit its policy failure and rebuild trust with the medical community by dismissing related officials.”