Eeshna Dashottar, Pune
South Korea’s government has decided to take action against the members of the medical fraternity on strike by taking steps to suspend their medical licenses. This action would be taken against trainee doctors who have not complied with the government’s deadline to end their rallies and return to work. This strike has managed to cause grave hindrances to medical services in the country. Some operations and treatments had to be canceled and emergency units faced a crisis because of this strike.
The strike and rallies by the doctors were instigated when the South Korean government officially announced last month their plans to increase the country’s medical school enrollment cap by 2,000 from the next academic year, with the current numbers at 3,058. This step, as officials mentioned, was to overcome the shortages of physicians in rural spots, in essential specialisations like pediatrics and emergency departments and to cater to the requirements of a fast-aging population. South Korea’s doctors-to-people ratio is 2.6 doctors per 1,000 people, one of the lowest in the developed world.
This step by the government was not taken well by some from the medical fraternity. They opposed this step on the grounds of the inefficiency of universities in providing quality education to such a large number of students all of a sudden. Some also opposed it because of the fear of increasing competition, further leading to increased medical expenses for the people of the country. The doctors emphasised that the government must first work on the pay and working conditions of the current doctors before increasing the numbers. Even though the doctors on strike are a small number compared to South Korea’s 1,40,000 doctors, they account for 40 per cent of the total doctors from some major hospitals in the country. South Korean law restricts doctors from taking strike actions, but the fraternity has taken the risk to voice their demands.
The government had announced 29 February as the deadline for the striking doctors to return to their work. Vice Health Minister Park Minsoo also stated that the ones who do not adhere to the deadline will have their license suspended for a minimum period of 3 months. Doctors in massive numbers took to the streets of Seoul on Sunday to join the mass rally organised by the Korean Medical Association (KMA) to disregard the deadline given by the government.
The proceedings for license revocation began on Monday for the doctors who missed the deadline. Formal confirmations of the absence of the striking doctors were made by the officials. Minister Park mentioned that notifications would reach the striking doctors about the suspension of their licenses, to which they would get a chance to respond.
The pressure of the absence of doctors is becoming a burden for the public and healthcare workers. Nurses have had to carry out procedures in operating theaters because of a shortage of doctors.