Minister Jeong Eun-kyeong: "Maintaining a Comprehensive Essential Healthcare System in Local Communities"

Inspection of the Cooperation System Between Icheon Hospital and Seoul National University Bundang Hospital
Discussions on Strengthening Regional Essential Healthcare for Pediatrics and Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Services

The Ministry of Health and Welfare announced that Minister Jeong Eun-kyeong visited Gyeonggi Provincial Medical Center Icheon Hospital in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, on September 9, to inspect the regional, essential, and public healthcare cooperation system and listen to opinions from the field.

This visit was organized to observe how the cooperation system between Icheon Hospital—which is a core facility for essential medical care in the southeastern region of Gyeonggi—and its affiliated advanced general hospital, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, is functioning in practice. The visit also aimed to hear feedback on challenges faced by local healthcare providers and gather opinions on institutional improvements.

Prior to the roundtable discussion, Minister Jeong toured Icheon Hospital's Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Center, Rehabilitation Center, and Emergency Medical Center, encouraging medical staff who work to provide care for local residents.

The roundtable was attended by National Assembly member Kim Yoon of the Health and Welfare Committee, officials from Gyeonggi Province and Icheon City, Choi Yongjae, president of the Korean Pediatric Hospital Association, as well as other medical experts. They discussed key essential healthcare issues in the Icheon area, the patient cooperation system, and strategies for securing public medical personnel.

Lee Moonhyeong, Director of Icheon Hospital, introduced achievements made in establishing an acute-phase care system in the Icheon area through the operation of the hospital's own Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Center and its connection with Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, under the theme of 'Essential Medical Issues in the Icheon Region.' He also requested active support from central and local governments to strengthen the capacity of local medical institutions, such as improving nighttime and holiday pediatric care operations in the region. Additionally, he conveyed practical difficulties, such as the need to adjust reimbursement rates for essential medical services.

Kim Jaehyun, a pediatrician at Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, stressed the importance of allocating roles among medical institutions for accepting critically ill or emergency pediatric patients. He recommended building stronger referral networks between local pediatric clinics and hospitals and public pediatric specialty care centers, as well as increasing compensation for maintaining pediatric and neonatal intensive care units and handling patient transfers.

Bae Heejun, Vice President of Public Affairs at Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, gave an overview of the Gyeonggi Province Public Clinical Professor Program and shared strategies for its development. He suggested integrating and streamlining various public sector medical staffing projects into a single, regional patient cooperation framework. He also highlighted the need to establish a legal foundation for experts in public healthcare and to create a stable organizational structure as future priorities.

Minister Jeong stated, "We will maintain a regionally comprehensive essential healthcare system through various support measures, including the establishment of a 'Special Account for Regional Essential Healthcare' worth about 1.2 trillion won, and by promoting locally led medical gap resolution projects, where local governments can design and implement tailored medical policies that fit the specific needs of their regions." She added, "We will continue to communicate with and support the field to ensure that everyone across the nation can access safe and appropriate essential healthcare services close to home."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.