Prime Minister Kim Min-seok personally inspected the emergency patient transport system on Thursday and ordered supplementary measures to resolve "mismatches" between hospitals and patients.
Kim chaired the "Daegu Regional Emergency Patient Transport System Inspection Meeting" at the Disaster Situation Room of the Seoul Government Complex, connected via video link to Daegu's 119 Emergency Rescue Situation Management Center. The meeting was attended by the Second Vice Minister of Health and Welfare, the Director of the 119 Response Bureau of the National Fire Agency, and the Chief of the Daegu Fire and Safety Headquarters, along with officials from Kyungpook National University Hospital, Keimyung University Dongsan Hospital, Daegu Catholic University Hospital, the National Emergency Medical Center, and the Daegu-Gyeongbuk Regional Emergency Medical Situation Room.
The meeting was organized as an extension of the previously conducted "Relay Inspection of the Gwangju-Jeolla Emergency Patient Transport System Innovation Pilot Project." Kim held a comprehensive discussion after receiving a briefing on the current status of Daegu's emergency patient transport and emergency care systems, as well as improvement measures.
"Daegu has operated an emergency medical system tailored to regional characteristics since 2023, when it established the 'Daegu City Emergency Patient Transport and Acceptance Guidelines,'" Kim said. "Please work closely with the Ministry of Health and Welfare to minimize mismatches between hospitals and emergency patients during the operation process."
The government plans to pursue improvements so that an efficient transport system can be expanded to other regions even before the pilot project concludes. It will actively inform the public of the achievements and implications of the emergency patient transport system reform, while continuing inspections of regions where emergency room rejection issues arise.
