Patients' groups take to the streets to slam striking doctors, gov't policy

Social Affairs

Published: 04 Jul. 2024, 18:53

Patients' groups take to the streets to slam striking doctors, gov't policy

Protesters rally to demand legislation of a bill to prevent medical staffing vacuums in front of Bosingak, a bell pavilion in Jongno District, central Seoul, on Thursday morning. [KIM JONG-HO]

Around 400 patients and their families demanded an immediate halt of untenable strikes and the swift normalization of health services during a rally in downtown Seoul on Thursday.

The protesters, who included patients, guardians, families and the general public, called on the medical community and the government to “protect the right to be treated” and to “prevent the reoccurrence of medical staffing vacuums” in a large-scale rally at 10:30 a.m. on the same day in front of Bosingak, a bell pavilion in Jongno District in central Seoul.

The rally was co-organized by some 102 patients’ groups, including the Korea Alliance of Patients Organization, Korean Organization for Rare Diseases and the Union of Korea Breast Cancer Patient.

They said doctors should immediately stop their “irresponsible and shameless behavior which sparks fear and anxiety in patients,” sharing their distress over delayed treatments by such a walkout.

“Doctors’ exclusive privilege to practice medicine is bestowed by Koreans who are sovereigns of the country, not by their parents nor the Korean Medical Association,” Ahn Gi-jong, head of the Korea Alliance of Patients Organization, said during the rally.

“The strike can […] make patients give up treatment [opportunities] and risk their lives,” Ahn said.

The protesters shouted slogans such as “Doctors cannot exist without patients,” “Stop the collective strike,” and “Legislate a bill to prevent health care vacuums.” Some shed tears during the rally.

Simultaneously, the patients blamed the government for prompting junior doctors to leave hospitals and sought legal protection.

They urged the government to prepare measures to “restructure the work force at tertiary hospitals in a way that expands the roles of senior doctors with board specialties” by reducing the dependency on trainee doctors.

They called lawmakers to “legislate a relevant bill ensuring hospitals to provide medical services without any interruptions even when health care professionals engage in collective action.”

They also added that the government should not have used public opinion — which largely supported the medical recruitment expansion — and patients as excuses to justify its drive to increase admissions slots in medical schools.

Kim Jeong-ae, mother of a child with deformed limbs and intellectual disabilities from Cornelia de Lange Syndrome, said that she and her child are “neither on the side of the government nor doctors.”

“Please let us receive treatment when we fall sick,” Kim said.

Asan Medical Center in Songpa District, southern Seoul, on Thursday [KIM JONG-HO]

On the same day, medical professors at Asan Medical Center started rescheduling their appointments and surgeries instead of going on a weeklong strike.

A professorial emergency committee said the rescheduling is “inevitable to minimize medical chaos prompted by the government’s violent health policy.” It also said the measure focuses on treating critically ill and emergency patients who should receive care at Asan Medical Center.

Kim Kook-il, an official from the Ministry of Health and Welfare, said he felt "relieved" that medical professors at Asan Medical Center switched from the previous decision of staging an indefinite strike to schedule adjustments, during a briefing at Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters on Thursday.

He asked doctors to “refrain from taking extreme means such as indefinite collective strike.”

As of Thursday, medical professors at Yonsei University's affiliated hospitals have continued their voluntary and indefinite strike, which started on June 27. Three of the nation's five largest tertiary hospitals —Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital and Samsung Medical Center — continue their medical services without ongoing professorial strikes.

BY LEE SOO-JUNG, CHO MOON-GYU [lee.soojung1@joongang.co.kr]