"Too Trembling to Treat": Seven Pediatric Emergency Center Doctors Express Intent to Resign

[Anchor]

Seven out of nine specialist doctors at Ajou University Hospital's pediatric emergency center have expressed their intent to resign. The move stems from a recent police raid on the emergency center, and if it leads to actual resignations, disruption to the regional emergency medical system seems inevitable.

Reporter Jeong Seong-jin has the details.

[Reporter]

This is the Pediatric Emergency Medical Center at Ajou University Hospital.

Nine specialists work in 24/7 rotational shifts 365 days a year to care for pediatric emergency patients.

However, seven specialists here, including the head of the center, expressed their intent to resign en masse on the night of the 27th.

The spark was the death of a four-month-old infant in July.

The baby, who showed symptoms of cyanosis, died while receiving emergency treatment from medical staff. After receiving a complaint from the bereaved family, the police raided the center on September 30.

The medical staff protested against the disruption of medical practice and being treated like criminals, demanding an apology. However, when the head of the police investigation who appeared at the National Assembly audit on the 27th maintained that the investigation was inevitable, they reportedly showed their intent to resign.

[Ham Young-wook / Head of the Metropolitan Investigation Unit, Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency (Oct. 27, National Assembly Audit): I sincerely regret the pain the medical staff must have experienced, as well as the inconvenience caused to patients.]

[Han Ji-a / People Power Party Lawmaker (Oct. 27, National Assembly Audit): They say their hands are trembling too much to provide medical treatment within that police agency's jurisdiction.]

While resignation letters have not actually been submitted or accepted yet, the news of the mass expression of intent to resign has shaken the local medical community.

There are only 14 pediatric emergency centers nationwide.

Severe pediatric patients from Gangwon and Chungbuk provinces, where there are none, also seek Ajou University Hospital. If this center fails to function properly, many children may have difficulty receiving timely treatment.

[Park Soo-hyun / Public Relations Director, Korean Society of Pediatric Emergency Medicine: The collapse of a base center that was barely holding on could soon be a signal that the entire pediatric emergency medical network in the country is collapsing. (The medical staff feel) there is no longer any reason to endure here....]

As the rift deepens without proper investigation standards established for essential medical fields, patients' anxiety is also growing.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
(Video by: Bae Moon-san | Video Editing by: Lee So-young | Design by: Lim Chan-hyeok)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.