The number of requests from emergency rescue workers to find hospitals for patients has more than doubled this year compared to last year, amid prolonged emergency room disruptions nationwide, the fire agency said Wednesday.

119 emergency control centers nationwide selected hospitals to accommodate emergency patients on 1,197 occasions from February to Aug. 25, marking a 131 percent increase from the same period last year, according to the National Fire Agency.

119 emergency control centers assist in assessing the seriousness of patients’ condition and locating hospitals upon requests from rescue workers affiliated with the nation’s 119 emergency service.

Previously, rescue workers mostly found hospitals on their own, but they are increasingly turning to these centers for assistance amid growing emergency room disruptions nationwide caused by doctors protesting the government’s medical reform.

During the same period last year, hospital selection accounted for only 1.8 percent of the 119 emergency control
centers’ workload, but the ratio jumped to 4.1 percent this year.

According to a separate fire agency report submitted to People Power Party Rep. Jung Sung-kook, rescue workers had to transfer the same patient four times to find a hospital willing to admit them on 17 occasions during the first half of this year.

It was recently reported that a 28-month-old girl remained unconscious for a month after being denied admission by 11 emergency rooms.

Source: Yonhap News Agency