Gangwon Emergency Rooms Grapple with Worsening Operational Difficulties Due to Doctor Shortage

Gangwon Province is no exception to the nationwide recruitment difficulties for medical staff. Securing personnel for emergency rooms is proving difficult, and some hospitals are even discussing closures.

Gangneung Medical Center, a pillar of regional public healthcare, operates its emergency room with three doctors, including one public health doctor. Despite nearly a year of recruitment notices, there has been little interest from doctors, leading to operational challenges. Sokcho Medical Center and Yeongwol Medical Center face similar situations.

The Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service's Jeongseon Hospital is considering closing its emergency room starting next month (July). Although it has issued recruitment notices eight times this year for two emergency room doctors, there have been no applications or even inquiries. The hospital and Jeongseon County are discussing countermeasures.

The union leader at Jeongseon Hospital stated that closing the emergency room would destroy the regional emergency medical safety net and urged for proactive support to maintain the ER's operations immediately.

The medical community suggests that doctors tend to avoid emergency room work due to the burden of potential legal lawsuits arising from patient care. They believe that even if a regional doctor system is implemented, it will take over 10 years for personnel to be deployed to these areas.