Hospitals in South Korea have been forced to cancel or postpone surgeries and medical procedures, including treatments for cancer, according to media reports, as more trainee doctors walked off the job in protest over proposed health reforms.
The reports on Thursday came as the South Korean government called on the doctors to hold talks and threatened to arrest those leading the walkout.
So far, some 9,275 trainees or almost two-thirds of the country’s young doctors have joined the protest against the government plan’s to increase the number of students admitted to medical schools.
The plan was announced as part of a bid to bolster the healthcare system in one of the world’s most rapidly ageing societies.
Doctors claim the changes will hurt service provision and education quality, but critics say the trainees are mainly concerned the reform could erode their salaries and social prestige.
The Yonhap news agency, citing medical sources, said the work stoppage has forced five of the biggest general hospitals in the South Korean capital, Seoul, to drastically reduce surgeries and medical procedures.
“Surgeries were cut in half at Severance Hospital in central Seoul, with St Mary’s Hospital and Asan Medical Center in southern and eastern Seoul, respectively, reducing their surgery capacities by 30 percent,” the agency reported.
