The country's only center for training specialists in severe trauma will close this month due to budget constraints. With the center, which has been responsible for training most of the country's trauma specialists, shutting down, a red light has been turned on for the trauma response system.
According to Korea University Guro Hospital on the 4th, the operation of the severe trauma specialist training center will be suspended on the 28th. Korea University Guro Hospital has operated the only training center in the country that trains trauma specialists for 11 years, but has found itself in a situation where it must close due to the complete cut of government budget support.
Korea University Guro Hospital's severe trauma specialist training center was designated in March 2014 as a hospital focusing on the intensive training of trauma specialists in the Seoul area. With criticisms that the domestic trauma treatment expert training system is inadequate, the Ministry of Health and Welfare designated Korea University Guro Hospital as a training institution for trauma specialists.
Korea University Guro Hospital's severe trauma specialist training center has produced over 20 trauma specialists until recently, playing a significant role in the domestic trauma response system. Currently, it is reported that 70% of the severe trauma specialists active in the country are from this center.
However, the annual budget of 900 million won that the government had been providing to support the operation of the center was entirely cut this year. The budget cut by the Ministry of Health and Welfare this year meant that the budget for related projects could not be allocated.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare requested the National Assembly to increase the related budget while submitting the budget proposal. However, since the National Assembly cut this year's budget, the budget allocation for the center was thwarted. The support project for the center was suspended in February this year, making actual operation impossible.
Korea University Guro Hospital has stated that it will suspend the center's operation for now, but if it secures operational funds in the future, it will resume operations. However, trauma treatment for severe trauma patients will continue independently of the center's operations.