Daegu Elderly Home Medical Care: Lowest in Korea?

◀Anchor▶
At the end of March, we recently reported on the overall status and problems of integrated care implemented across the country.

Daegu was found to have the lowest number of ‘long-term care home medical centers’, one of the key indicators of integrated care implementation, among 17 special and metropolitan cities across the country.

There are concerns that the quality of care services will decline and inequality with other cities and provinces will become a reality.

Reporter Jaehyung Park reports.

◀Reporter▶
Integrated care implemented nationwide starting March 27th.

It was introduced to increase efficiency by combining previously separate health/medical and welfare/care services into one.

In particular, home medical centers, which are the core of community care, provide services where doctors, nurses, and social workers work as a team to visit seniors who have difficulty moving.

The key is the involvement of medical institutions.

◀Daegu district office official▶
“(Insurance) is a problem in terms of quantity, and we cannot provide it all. It is also difficult to find a partner agency.”

The problem is that Daegu has fewer home medical centers than other metropolitan cities and provinces.

In fact, there are 11 centers in Daegu, and each center has a population of 47,000 people aged 65 or older, which is 1.5 times the national average and 2.35 times that of Gwangju.

This is the second highest in the country after Ulsan, indicating that the Daegu center has a high concentration of work.

Daegu City said that actual operational efficiency should be considered rather than the number of centers, and that it plans to increase the number of centers.

◀Kim Hong-jun, Director of Daegu City Health and Medical Policy Division▶
“In particular, we are explaining the project to the Medical Association so that they can expand the number of participating medical institutions, and in the case of rural areas, since they are medically vulnerable areas, we are inducing some collaboration with public health centers.”

Civic groups are concerned about disruptions in implementation of integrated care due to lack of preparation.

◀ Eun Jae-sik, Secretary General of the Citizens’ Coalition for Welfare ▶
“The position of the administrative authorities that they can guarantee the quality of care and increase the effectiveness of operation is just a lie. Voter action appears to be necessary to guarantee care.”

The imbalance between basic organizations is also at a serious level.

In Dalseo-gu, Daegu and Pohang, Gyeongbuk, one center is responsible for over 100,000 people aged 65 or older, while Andong has three centers and two centers in Seo-gu.

The success or failure of integrated care depends on the will of local governments.

In order for integrated care to not be limited to a system with a changed name, detailed preparation and inspection are urgently needed.

This is Jaehyung Park from MBC News. (Video reporting by Yoon Jong-hee, graphics by Han Min-soo)