Korea’s healthcare system is on edge of precipice amid resurging Covid-19 < Hospital < Article

The number of high-risk patients hospitalized with Covid-19 is soaring in Korea, but there are neither doctors nor treatments at hospitals.

Medical workers who have filled the void left by resigned trainee doctors in protest of the medical school enrollment quota are saying they can’t stand any longer, urging the government to strengthen the medical response system at the national level.

According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), the number of hospitalized Covid-19 patients rose in late June. It reached 1,444 in the third week of August. This is a more than sixfold increase in one month from 226 in the third week of July. Some 66 percent of hospitalized patients were 65 and older.

The KDCA said it had purchased 262,000 doses of Covid-19 medication as a reserve.

“This is enough to support high-risk groups until October stably. After October, we will continue to promote health insurance enrollment with the relevant ministries to ensure the supply of medication within the general medical system,” it said.

In the medical field, however, the seven-month-long vacuum of trainee physicians has led to severe burnout among medical workers. Medical professionals said that the Covid-19 resurgence, coupled with the drug shortages, has created a “serious crisis.”

Civic groups criticized the Yoon Suk Yeol administration for “forcing people to find their own ways to survive.”

Against this backdrop, the Korean Medical Association (KMA)’s special committee on Covid-19 countermeasures issued a “recommendation to the government on Covid-19’s resurgence” on Tuesday.

“The government’s bold response and support are urgently needed. The medical system is already stretched to its limits,” the committee said. “It has become routine for high-risk Covid-19 patients to be unable to receive medication, and professors at university hospitals have been physically and mentally exhausted from outpatient, on-call, and surgery for seven months.”

The KMA panel added that opening elementary, middle, and high schools and the Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving) holiday in mid-September could further spread the disease, stressing the need to bolster the epidemic prevention and medical system.

“We recommend that the medical response system at the national level be strengthened promptly,” the expert committee said, calling for establishing a concrete and effective Covid-19 drug supply system, supporting medical staff and medical equipment, working out active prevention and treatment measures for vulnerable and high-risk groups, and plans to improve vaccination rates for high-risk groups.

The committee emphasized the need to establish a transparent supply-and-demand system to share the distribution status and inventory of therapeutic drugs in real-time with physicians at the local level so that patients can be immediately administered therapeutic drugs according to the doctor’s prescription.

“Medical care is at a crossroads, as professors at university hospitals are overwhelmed with prolonged outpatient, hospitalization, and surgical duties, leaving little time to care for the growing number of Covid-19 patients,” it said. “There is an urgent need for government support for beds, medical staff, and medical equipment to care for hospitalized and critically ill Covid-19 patients.”

The panel also called for active monitoring of high-risk nursing home residents, refraining from visiting nursing homes during the Chuseok holiday, and strengthening infection prevention and control measures.

Regarding the Covid-19 vaccine, it said, “It is questionable whether the JN.1 variant vaccine secured by the government is the optimal vaccine to prevent Covid-19 in winter,” stressing that the KP.2 variant vaccine should be secured. A vaccination plan should be established, as in the United States.

Later in the day, the expert committee also issued a public advisory, urging people with suspected Covid-19 symptoms to get tested and receive treatment early if confirmed. It also urged people to strengthen personal hygiene and wear masks when visiting medical institutions and vulnerable facilities.

Civic groups criticized the Yoon administration.

“The government’s incompetence and inaction greatly threaten the health and lives of vulnerable people,” they said, adding that the government should take responsibility for preventing and treating infectious diseases.

Three health- and medicine-related social solidarities, comprised of the Korea Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) and 360 civic groups, demanded so at a news conference on Tuesday.

“The Yoon Suk Yeol administration is forcing people to find ways to survive the spread of Covid-19,” they said, calling for the government to introduce a sick allowance and paid sick leave to guarantee the right to rest when sick and expand public hospitals.