(LEAD) Doctors' full-scale strike feared to disrupt medical services amid pandemic

(ATTN: UPDATES with more details in last 3 paras; CHANGES photos)

SEOUL, Aug. 25 (Yonhap) -- More doctors are expected to participate in a full-scale strike this week in protest of the government's medical workforce reform plan, spawning concerns about the disruption in the health care system amid spiking coronavirus cases.

Doctors, including interns and resident doctors at general hospitals and practitioners at neighborhood clinics, plan to begin a three-day nationwide strike Wednesday to protest the government's move to increase the number of medical students.

Their collective actions come as thousands of trainee doctors have been staging an indefinite strike since late last week, calling for the government to scrap the plan.

As part of the country's medical workforce reform plan, the health ministry is planning to expand admission quotas at medical schools by 4,000 over the next 10 years, starting in 2022, and to open a new public medical school as it seeks to broaden the reach of health care services.

This will increase the number of students admitted annually to medical schools to 3,458 in the 2022-2031 period from the current 3,058, according to the plan.

Calling the government's move a "hasty and unilateral" decision, thousands of trainee doctors launched an indefinite strike Friday on a staggered basis, and such doctors at all levels are now staging the collective action.

Trainee doctors held a one-day strike on Aug. 7 and also participated in doctors' similar walkout a week later.

But Wednesday's move is feared to have far-reaching impacts on the health care system as patients have already suffered damage stemming from the latest walkout at some hospitals.

Some major general hospitals in Seoul said they cannot receive critically ill patients at emergency rooms due to a lack of medical staff. Outpatients had either longer waiting times to meet doctors or saw their appointments with doctors delayed. Even surgery for brain tumors was put off.

"Outpatient treatments done by medical professors are in operation. But we cannot help curtailing surgery schedules as trainee doctors went on the walkout," a Samsung Medical Center official said.

The health ministry warned Saturday that it will soon issue a return-to-work order to striking trainee doctors as part of its strong response to their strike.

But apparently burdened by protracted tensions amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the government and the medical sector have sought to solve the contentious issue through dialogue.

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun met representatives from the Korean Intern and Resident Association (KIRA) and the Korean Medical Association (KMA), which represents 130,000 doctors, earlier this week.

During the meeting, trainee doctors agreed to participate in medical services to respond to the novel coronavirus outbreak, signaling that KIRA members will return to work on a limited basis.

Though the talks did not generate a major breakthrough, hopes for a last-ditch resolution did not fade away as both sides agreed Tuesday to launch working-level consultations.

The government said it will seek to find a solution with leaving all possibilities open for "sincere" talks with the medical sector.

The health ministry remains cautious about issuing a return-to-work order to striking trainee doctors as it will involve mandatory enforcement.

"It is not appropriate to bring up the issue as we are in talks with the medical sector," Son Young-rae, a senior health official, said in a briefing.

The official added that the government is bracing for an emergency mode, with district-based state clinic centers to respond to a potential vacuum in treating patients.

sooyeon@yna.co.kr
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