Calls rise for infectious disease hospital

By Kim Se-jeong

The government’s poor management of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) outbreak is leading to increasing calls for a special medical facility to treat patients with infectious diseases.

Rep. Kim Yong-ik, from the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy, proposed legislation Wednesday to support opening a dedicated hospital for outbreaks like MERS.

The same calls were made during the SARS outbreak in 2002 and flu pandemic of 2009. Presently, the National Medical Center is responsible for patient treatment and the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) drafts policies for infectious diseases.

Kim Dae-hee, secretary general of the Association of Physicians for Humanism, an NGO based in Seoul, believes opening a new facility will not solve the problem.

“When you have thousands of people to isolate and treat, how could one facility accommodate them all?” he said. “Also, when there’s no emergency like MERS, what would that facility do? Will the government pay people to do nothing?”

He says the government should instead increase the number of public hospitals.

The decreasing number of state-run hospitals is a weak point in Korea’s healthcare system. As of last year, the number of public hospitals was 1,363, which is only 7 percent of the entire number of medical facilities.

In addition, that number is ever-decreasing, as hospitals are pressurized into making greater profits. A public hospital in Jinju, South Gyeongsang Province recently closed its doors due to a lack of patients.

According to Kim, Korea’s shift towards a privatized health system has left it vulnerable to outbreaks. “In Europe, where publicly-funded hospitals are the majority, it’s easier to mobilize hospitals when emergencies like MERS happen. This is much more difficult in Korea.”

The lack of public hospitals is just one of many problems exposed by MERS.

The culture of “hospital shopping” is another.

This phenomenon began with the rise of large medical centers funded by conglomerates in the 1990s. With quality services and equipment, they drew people from all across the country.

Samsung Medical Center (SMC), which is at the heart of the MERS outbreak, is considered one of Korea’s best hospitals. This popularity has now turned to poison amid the MERS outbreak, as the facility contributed hugely to the spread of the virus. Out of 165 confirmed MERS cases, more than 80 contracted MERS from SMC ― they are mostly patients, family members and hospital employees.

Experts also say Korea needs a primary care system where people are paired with a local doctor who offers day-to-day medical care.

The first patient who was diagnosed on May 20 did not tell a doctor he visited the Middle East. Experts say that had he had a primary care doctor and revealed his visit, the current situation would have been much better.