Health ministry deploys task force for Bangudae Hospital patients

The health ministry said it will deploy a task force to help transfer or discharge patients at Bangudae Hospital in Ulsan after the hospital decided to close voluntarily.

The task force will begin intensive operations on Aug. 19 for one week and may be extended depending on the progress of transfers and discharges. The ministry said it had asked Ulsan, Ulju County and the hospital to prepare individual transfer or discharge plans, maintain legally required medical staffing and a 24-hour treatment and nursing system, and follow relevant procedures.

The task force will include the Ministry of Health and Welfare, National Bugok Hospital, Ulsan, Ulju County, the Medical Institution Accreditation Institute and disability-rights advocacy bodies. National Bugok Hospital and the accreditation institute will send personnel experienced in reviewing whether hospitalization is appropriate and evaluating medical institutions. They will support transfers and discharges and inspect patient-safety management.

Staff will assess each patient's condition, treatment needs and the views of patients and their families. Those needing psychiatric inpatient treatment will be transferred to appropriate psychiatric facilities, while people who need less inpatient treatment or care will be linked with mental health welfare centers and local housing, care and welfare services. The ministry will also work with Ulsan to identify disability-related needs and coordinate with patients' local governments on emergency care and activity-support services.

“To prevent inpatients from experiencing gaps in treatment and care due to Bangudae Hospital's closure, the ministry will actively cooperate with relevant agencies so local governments can closely assess each patient's circumstances and link needed support,” Lee Sun-young, the ministry's mental health policy director, said.

An in-hospital counseling desk led by the Ulju County health center will connect patients needing help making decisions with procedural assistance. The ministry will also seek to ensure procedural rights for involuntarily admitted patients.

Before a transfer, mental health review committees in Ulsan and Ulju County will review receiving facilities and the need for continued hospitalization for administrative admissions. Patients under protective admission will undergo a renewed appropriateness review after transfer.