(C) Al Jazeera
South Korea is facing a serious crisis in its health care system, as thousands of doctors have resigned or threatened to resign in protest against the government’s plan to increase the number of medical students and reform the medical sector.
The doctors say that the plan will worsen the quality and accessibility of health care, and that the government should instead address the issues of low pay, long hours, and poor working conditions. Here is what the plan entails and why the doctors are opposed to it.
The government’s plan, which was announced in February 2020, aims to increase the number of doctors in South Korea by 15,000 by 2035, to cope with the rising demand for health care due to the aging population, the Covid-19 pandemic, and the regional disparities. The plan includes:
The government says that the plan is necessary and urgent, as South Korea has one of the lowest ratios of doctors to population in the developed world, according to data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), which shows 2.6 doctors per 1,000 people in 2018, compared to the OECD average of 3.5¹. The government also says that the plan will improve the public health and welfare, and will contribute to the economic and social development of the country.
The doctors, especially the trainee doctors and the specialists, are strongly against the plan, and have staged several strikes and rallies to express their opposition and dissatisfaction. The doctors say that the plan will have negative and detrimental effects on the health care system and the medical profession, such as:
The doctors demand that the government withdraw or revise the plan, and that it engage in a dialogue and a consultation with the medical community and the relevant stakeholders. The doctors also demand that the government address the issues of low pay, long hours, and poor working conditions, and that it respect and protect the rights and interests of the doctors.
The doctors’ protest has serious implications and consequences for the health care system and the society in South Korea, such as:
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