“39.4% Unable to Provide Round-the-Clock Emergency Care, 8 Out of 10 Facilities Lack Pediatric Specialists”

It has been revealed that only 13.5% of emergency medical institutions nationwide are capable of treating pediatric emergency patients 24 hours a day without restrictions on time, age, or symptoms.

On the 6th, Representative Jeon Jin-sook of the National Assembly Health and Welfare Committee (Democratic Party of Korea) released the "Pediatric Emergency Patient Treatment Status of Emergency Medical Institutions" data submitted by the Ministry of Health and Welfare.

Out of 431 emergency medical institutions nationwide, only 58 institutions (13.5%) were able to provide 24-hour pediatric emergency care without any restrictions on time, age, or symptoms.

Institutions completely incapable of providing 24-hour pediatric emergency care numbered 170 (39.4%). Meanwhile, 203 institutions (47.1%) provided pediatric emergency care only with limitations depending on time, age, or symptoms.

Even among institutions that responded as being capable of 24-hour care, some reported that pediatric emergency treatment was unavailable on weekdays or during specific time slots, or that treating infants under a certain age or patients with specific symptoms was difficult.

Some institutions stated that they had to transfer patients to other medical institutions if they required specialized pediatric care or treatment for specific symptoms such as seizures or severe trauma.

24-Hour Care Unavailable: 6.8% of Regional Centers, 33% of Local Centers, 51.3% of Local Institutions

Looking at the breakdown by type of emergency medical institution, the number of institutions unable to provide 24-hour pediatric emergency care included 3 out of 44 regional emergency medical centers (6.8%), 47 out of 141 local emergency medical centers (33.3%), and 119 out of 232 local emergency medical institutions (51.3%).

In particular, more than half of local emergency medical institutions responded that 24-hour pediatric emergency care was unavailable.

There was also a shortage of specialist personnel to handle pediatric emergency care. Out of all 431 emergency medical institutions, only 99 institutions (23.0%) had pediatricians working as dedicated emergency room physicians.

At the remaining 332 institutions (77.0%), pediatric specialists did not work as dedicated emergency room physicians. Furthermore, only 63.8% of institutions had emergency medicine specialists capable of providing pediatric emergency care, while 36.2% lacked such specialists.

Representative Jeon Jin-sook pointed out, “It is difficult for guardians to determine whether an emergency room can actually treat a child based solely on the simple classification of ‘24-hour care available.’”

She added, “The government should not stop at simply managing the number of institutions capable of 24-hour care; rather, it must accurately assess actual pediatric patient acceptance capacity and ensure that the public can easily verify this information.”

[ⓒ Global Economic Times. 무단전재-재배포 금지]