Emergency Medical⁢ Care During the Christmas Holidays:​ A ‌Review

During the ‌Christmas holidays, some individuals ‍may ‍require urgent​ hospital ⁤visits. The government has assessed that the ⁤emergency healthcare system has been maintained at​ a certain level,‌ thanks to‍ the public’s concession⁢ to use the emergency room.

A recent visit⁤ to a children’s hospital in Gimpo, ​Gyeonggi-do, revealed a⁣ crowded waiting ​room and‍ corridors filled ⁤with patients and their guardians.‍ Within 20 minutes of​ starting treatment, the waiting list exceeded​ 100 people.

A parent of a pediatric ⁤patient noted, “There ​are only a few places where​ pediatricians are open. They ‍call it ‘Moonlight’ pediatrics (open at night and on holidays), so it’s only here. There​ are a⁢ few places like here,​ but we can’t⁤ do anything about it. Because‌ the child is sick…”

Some ‌hospitals received complaints that care ended around lunchtime or that ⁤the initial “opening” announcement‍ was⁢ incorrect. A parent,‍ Kim Yu-mi, shared her ‌experience, “(Yesterday) I went there because they​ said it was open, but ‍they didn’t answer the phone and‌ there was⁢ no separate parking lot,⁣ so I couldn’t ​go there, I‌ looked and went there, but they said it was the only place in the neighborhood that was open, so ​I went there, but ​I couldn’t get‌ through to them.”

Another parent reported that her son ⁢received​ treatment at a local ⁢family ‍medicine clinic a day ⁢after his finger got‌ caught in a door and was injured.

According to the government, there has‍ been no “emergency room crisis” during ‌the four-day holiday period.​ It⁤ is ‌reported ⁤that 408 emergency rooms nationwide, excluding ⁤three, are open⁣ 24 hours a ‍day, and the number of patients visiting hospitals has decreased by more than 20% compared​ to the last two holidays.

Health and Welfare Minister Cho Kyu-hong⁢ stated, “It is understood that the emergency healthcare system⁢ during the holiday period focused on seriously ill⁤ patients due‌ to the ⁤high civic ⁣consciousness of citizens who ceded the ‌use of the emergency⁣ room to those who needed‌ it most.”

Minister Cho also noted that the ‍problem of emergency room chaos during holidays is not new and mostly occurs in rural areas rather than metropolitan areas.

The government has reiterated its position of‌ asking the medical community ‍to ‍participate in the “consultative body of the ruling‍ party” to address the shortage of essential medical care in the ‌region.

Reported by Jo ⁢Hee-won from⁣ MBC News.