A growing number of doctors have decided not to join a planned strike by community doctors next week, according to the doctors’ groups Friday, saying that they would not put patients at more risk.
The move came as the Korea Medical Association (KMA), a major lobby group for community doctors, is scheduled to take a day off next Tuesday, in support of a protracted walkout by trainee doctors against the government’s medical reform.
Earlier in the day, a group of medical professors specializing in epilepsy announced their boycott of the planned strike.
“As the risk of physical damage and death increases significantly for patients suffering from epilepsy if their treatments are suspended, we can never cease the administration of medication,” the group said in a statement.
“Medical students and trainee doctors should immediately return, and medical organizations should face the government based on scientific grounds and analysis,” it added.
The Korea 추천 Obstetric Hospital Association and the Korea Children’s Hospital Association also announced their boycott of the walkout, stressing the importance of protecting critical patients.
“We understand the protest by the KMA, but we cannot leave patients behind,” the children’s hospital group, which includes 120 hospitals as members, said in a separate statement.
The Korean Society of Anesthesiologists also said essential staff will remain at hospitals to continue treatment.
Patients’ advocacy groups, meanwhile, welcomed a series of announcements expressing the boycott.
“We support and welcome the doctors’ decision that sustains their basic duties,” the Korea Severe Disease Association said in a statement, condemning the KMA for prioritizing its interests over people’s lives.
