In this undated file photo, a doctor treats a baby at a health center. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Mar. 14 (Korea Bizwire) — The government will allocate 1.3 trillion won (US$988.4 million) over a five-year period to support the medical treatment of young children with serious illnesses and reduce hospital admission costs for babies under age two, the interior minister said Thursday.
“The government will ensure that young children will not face any difficulties going to hospitals at night or on holidays,” Minister Lee Sang-min said in a government response meeting to medical circles’ collective action against the plan to hike medical school enrollments by 2,000 seats beginning next year.
More than 10,000 intern and resident doctors have stayed off their duties at general hospitals for over three weeks in protest against the government plan aimed at addressing the chronic shortage of doctors in rural areas and essential but less popular medical disciplines.
Pediatrics has long been cited as one of several essential medical fields facing a shortage of health care workers. Some parents of young children often have to line up for hours before neighborhood pediatric centers open for business due to a high number of patients.
“Under any circumstances, the government will fulfill its constitutional duties to protect and prioritize the lives and health of the public,” the interior minister said.
He also addressed the public’s increasing anxieties over medical professors considering potential collective action, saying the government will mobilize all its resources to enhance medical treatment systems for emergent and serious patients, and minimize any confusion at hospitals.
The government’s ongoing medical reform aims to secure a sufficient health care workforce and strengthen services in essential medical fields, he said, adding that the government will unwaveringly push to complete the reform.
(Yonhap)
