Severe manpower shortage at severe trauma centers across the country... 6 out of 17 specialist positions are vacant

(Jeonju = Yonhap News) Reporter Lim Chae-du = It has been shown that the manpower shortage is worsening at major trauma centers across the country.

According to data received from the Ministry of Health and Welfare by Rep. Park Ji-won of the Democratic Party of Korea (Gunsan, Gimje, Buan-eul, Jeollabuk-do) on the 5th, as of the end of last year, 6 of the 17 regional severe trauma centers across the country did not have a specialist in charge of at least one subject.

The legally exclusive specialist departments that a regional severe trauma center must have are surgery, thoracic surgery (cardiovascular and thoracic surgery), orthopedics, neurosurgery, and emergency medicine.

However, Mokpo Hankuk Hospital did not have dedicated specialists in surgery, orthopedics, and neurosurgery, Ulsan University Hospital in orthopedics, Daejeon Eulji Hospital in neurosurgery, Wonkwang University Hospital in thoracic surgery and orthopedics, Jeju Halla Hospital in neurosurgery, and Gyeongsang National University Hospital in thoracic surgery and emergency medicine.

Across all medical departments, the number of dedicated specialists decreased to 199 in 2021 and 184 in 2025, and as of June this year, there were 178.

Last year, the government increased the subsidy for dedicated specialists from 144 million won to 160 million won and also raised on-duty fees, but the manpower shortage continues, Rep. Park said.

In particular, in the case of Wonkwang University Hospital, there was not a single applicant for specialist recruitment from 2023 to this year.

Chungbuk National University Hospital and Jeju Halla Hospital also wanted 15 and 4 people, respectively, this year, but there were no applicants.

The burden on the remaining medical staff at the regional severe trauma center also increased.

As the number of specialists at Wonkwang University Hospital decreased from 9 in 2021 to 3 in 2025, the annual number of severe trauma patients handled by one specialist increased approximately 2.6 times from 55.7 to 142.7.

As of last year, the outflow rate of severe trauma patients was 6.06% at Mokpo Hankuk Hospital and 3.17% at Wonkwang University Hospital, which was higher than the overall average (2.08%).

Representative Park said, “In order for regional severe trauma centers to treat severe trauma patients 24 hours a day, they must secure not only facilities and equipment, but also the necessary professional manpower in a stable manner,” and added, “In areas where recruitment is difficult, we must consider practical measures to secure manpower, such as local additions, long-term service, housing, and education support.”