The National Fire Agency said on Feb. 12 that during the Lunar New Year holiday it will switch 119 emergency medical control centers nationwide to emergency operations and provide 24-hour medical consultations and referrals to hospitals and clinics.
The National Fire Agency will deploy a total of 507 professional counselors, including nurses and level-1 emergency medical technicians, an increase of 150 from usual, and will operate 113 consultation lines, 30 more than before.
During last year's Lunar New Year holiday, 46,362 medical consultations and referrals were provided through 119. The daily average was 7,727, more than 70% higher than the weekday average of 4,543 last year.
They also saved a life. During last year's Lunar New Year holiday at a nursing home in Cheonan, South Chungcheong, a woman in her 70s choked on a grape and could not breathe. Upon receiving the call, a 119 control room operator dispatched an ambulance and guided the caller by phone to perform the Heimlich maneuver (abdominal thrusts). Following the instructions, the caregiver administered first aid, the foreign object blocking the airway was removed before the paramedics arrived, and the patient regained consciousness and breathing.
People abroad for overseas travel, study, or business trips during the Lunar New Year holiday can also receive medical consultations. In addition to phone (+82-44-320-0119), email (central119ems@korea.kr), and the KakaoTalk channel (National Fire Agency emergency medical consultation service), starting this year the "119 Safety Report Center" application and the National Fire Agency mobile webpage are also available.