With the ultimatum for the return to work of trainees stopped in protest since 19 February falling on deaf ears, the government has sent out the first 5,000 suspension letters. With 93% of doctors absent, nurses allowed to perform some of their duties. Patients' associations denounce: first deaths from postponed treatments.
Bishop Ri Iong-hoon, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea, issued an appeal in the wake of labour dispute that has paralysed South Korean hospitals for the past two weeks. For the prelate, “the sanctity of life takes precedence over everything else.” Both sides “must find a compromise” so that patients are not held “hostage to unavoidable conflicts.”
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They are protesting over the increase in the number of students admitted to university faculties, a measure that has been talked about for some time in a country that has one of the lowest rates of doctors in relation to its population. But health workers claim that other deficiencies such as overcrowding in hospitals are not being addressed. Preceptions were ordered while the police investigated the protesters.
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