IANS | 26 Apr, 2024
Professors from around 20 major medical schools in South Korea will
decide on Friday whether to take a weekly day off while struggling to
fill the void of trainee doctors who have walked off their jobs for more
than two months, officials said.
The emergency committee for national medical professors will hold
a general meeting online later in the day and discuss the potential
suspension of all surgeries and treatment for outpatients once a week,
according to its officials, Yonhap news agency reported.
"Professors
have hit their limit both mentally and physically," said a committee
official, adding: "We will review whether to take a day off on a regular
basis, and details will be fixed in accordance with the situation of
each hospital."
Despite looming closures, hospitals will likely
continue the operations of their emergency rooms and intensive care
units, he added.
The committee involves professors from around 20
medical schools, and those affiliated with some of the schools have
already decided to have a weekly break starting next month.
Earlier,
professors of the Seoul National University's medical school vowed to
suspend their work on April 30, and they will decide on possible regular
breaks later.
The professors serve as senior doctors at major hospitals.
The
move came as more than 90 per cent of the country's 13,000 trainee
doctors have walked away from their duties at general hospitals since
February 20 in protest of the government's decision to increase the
number of medical school seats by 2,000 starting next year from the
current 3,058.
The government and the medical community have not yet found a breakthrough in their conflict.
The
medical community cited heavy workloads and extreme fatigue as major
reasons for the move, however, it is also seen as a way of adding
pressure by the medical community on the government to seek a
breakthrough as the plan on the medical school admission quota for next
year is supposed to be finalised by end-April.
Adding to the woes,
medical professors have submitted their resignations since March 25 in
support of the collective action by junior doctors, which was supposed
to take legal effect after one month.
The government launched a
special presidential commission on medical reform Thursday for talks on
the issue with the medical community, including doctors.
It also
decided to allow universities to make their quotas ranging from 50 to
100 per cent of what the government assigned for next year.
But doctors have rejected the proposals, calling for the government to revisit the issue from scratch.