Seoul, October 24 (IANS). South Korea's Health Ministry has selected eight institutions to launch a program. In this, general hospitals will focus more on the treatment of serious patients, while patients with mild symptoms will be referred to local hospitals.
According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, through this program, the government aims to cover 70 percent of the total seriously ill patients treated in general hospitals, while the current estimate is 50 percent, news agency Yonhap reported. Is.
It says selected hospitals will receive more compensation for treating patients with serious or rare conditions.
The move is in line with efforts to fill the medical void created by the mass resignation of thousands of trainee doctors since February in protest against government plans to increase the number of medical school students.
“Through this project, large hospitals and small hospitals can pursue shared development instead of competition, and patients will receive treatment from the most appropriate institutions,” the health ministry said in a statement.
Meanwhile, the government also reiterated its call for unconditional talks with the medical community to help end the long-running strike by trainee doctors.
“Dialogue and communication is the first step to reestablishing trust and the most effective way to deal with the ongoing challenges,” said Park Min-soo, second vice health minister.
The government had earlier decided to increase medical school seats by 1,500 for 2025 as part of its plan to increase the number of students by about 2,000 over the next five years to address the shortage of doctors.
The Korea Medical Association, the country's largest doctors' group, is demanding that the government scrap plans to increase medical school seats before engaging in any talks.
–IANS
MKS/CBT
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