Three in Four Korean Pediatric Hospitals Report Specialist Shortages
A survey of 71 pediatric hospitals in South Korea found that 74.6 percent lack enough specialists to sustain care, with recruitment delays and heavy workloads threatening night, holiday and inpatient services.
Nearly three-quarters of pediatric hospitals surveyed in South Korea say they do not have enough specialists to maintain necessary medical services, underscoring persistent pressure on essential child health care nationwide.
The Korean Children’s Hospital Association surveyed 71 member hospitals across the country from September 29 through October 4. Of those institutions, 53, or 74.6 percent, reported a shortage of pediatric specialists needed to sustain treatment. Only 18 hospitals, representing 25.4 percent, said they had sufficient staffing.
The most common obstacle was a lack of applicants. Among hospitals reporting shortages, 86.8 percent cited the absence of candidates. Another 71.7 percent said applicants were reluctant to take night, holiday or inpatient shifts, while 58.5 percent said they could not afford the salaries candidates requested. Respondents could select more than one reason.
Recruitment efforts have often taken months without producing hires. All but three of the surveyed hospitals had tried to recruit pediatric specialists within the past three years. Just 19 hospitals, or 27.9 percent of those that tried, completed recruitment within six months. Another 27.9 percent took between six months and one year, 11.8 percent took at least a year, and 32.4 percent had still not filled their vacancies.
The age profile of the hospitals’ 313 full-time specialists also raised concerns about future staffing. Doctors in their 40s made up 34.5 percent of the total, followed by those in their 50s at 31.6 percent and those in their 60s at 16.6 percent. Specialists in their 30s accounted for 16 percent, fewer than the number in their 60s, which the association said points to difficulties in generational replacement.
Workloads are already affecting services. Among hospital directors who responded, 43.7 percent said they worked more than 52 hours a week. Nearly all of that group said the extra hours were necessary to preserve night, holiday and inpatient care. Over the past three years, 60.6 percent of surveyed hospitals had reduced or suspended some services because of specialist shortages, with curtailed night care the most frequently reported consequence.
More than half of respondents said that if staffing and recruitment conditions remain unchanged, they could maintain their current range of services for less than four years. Calls for government action focused most heavily on improving reimbursement rates, followed by financial support for staffing, expanding the supply of pediatric doctors and strengthening legal protections for medical workers.
The association warned that recent police searches connected to a pediatric emergency center could deepen doctors’ reluctance to enter the specialty. Its chairman, Choi Yong-jae, said local essential pediatric care could lose its ability to function unless institutional safeguards and support measures are introduced.