Health ministry prepares regional emergency transfer system for Daejeon-Chungcheong

The health ministry said Monday it is preparing a regional emergency-patient transfer system for Daejeon and Chungcheong to respond to delays involving critically ill patients, with hubs planned in Daejeon and Cheonan.

The planned Daejeon-Chungcheong regional situation room covers Daejeon, Sejong, North Chungcheong Province and South Chungcheong Province. The system will use Daejeon as a hub for the southern area and Cheonan as one for the north, with each set to receive critically ill emergency patients.

Considering the distribution of medical institutions and geographical accessibility, North Chungcheong has also built a new transfer arrangement linked to Andong in North Gyeongsang Province.

"The key to expanding the pilot project is creating transfer guidelines that work in the field, based on cooperation between emergency medical personnel and 119 ambulance crews," Lee Hyeong-hoon, the second vice minister at the Ministry of Health and Welfare, said. "I ask for a thorough overhaul so that no patients are left unable to find an emergency room while in transit."

Across the country, the health ministry is checking whether 16 cities and provinces will complete revisions to their transfer guidelines by September. Busan, Daegu, Ulsan and North Gyeongsang Province have already applied revised guidance in the field.