South Korea's health ministry said Monday it was deploying military doctors to assist in some hospital emergency rooms due to a shortage of medical staff, but disputed a warning by some physicians that the system was on the verge of collapse.
A strike by young doctors has increased strain on the medical system, but Vice Health Minister Park Min-soo said that while some hospitals had shortened the hours of emergency room (ER) operations and were working with fewer doctors reports that some major hospitals had suspended ER operations were false.
"The overall emergency medical capacity is such that there are some difficulties but it's not a situation where we have to worry about a collapse as some people are warning," Park told a briefing.
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