Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital yesterday confirmed that 22 of its emergency room (ER) physicians have submitted their resignations and it is trying to persuade them to stay.
A post on social media platform Line alleged that ER doctors at the hospital were collectively resigning, with 22 physicians tendering their resignations and as many as 18 more planning to do so.
The post said that the hospital’s emergency room has suffered financial losses in the past few years and the hospital’s management wanted to reduce the department’s staff and limit its development.
Photo: CNA
Questions and rumors about the post prompted the hospital in Taoyuan’s Gueishan District (龜山) to call a news conference yesterday morning.
Hospital deputy superintendent Wen Ming-shien (溫明賢) said 22 attending physicians had submitted their resignations, but senior supervisors were trying to persuade them to stay.
“This incident will not affect the quality of treatment in the hospital’s ER,” he said.
The hospital is the only medical center in the Taoyuan-Hsinchu-Miaoli area, and whereas a medical center’s ER is required to have at least 41 physicians, the hospital ER department has 58, Wen said.
The main reason behind the mass resignations is that two ER supervisors had been dismissed by the hospital for negligence and violation of rules, which caused an upset in the department, he said.
“Chang Gung Memorial Hospital is not a for-profit hospital and to improve ER healthcare quality, the hospital established the first 24-hour ER in the nation, with doctors on duty in shifts. We have never limited the development of any department because of financial losses,” he said.
Chen Jih-chang (陳日昌), the former director of the department who was dismissed by the hospital, yesterday said he had been assigned in 2003 to be the head of Chang Gung’s emergency rooms and had focused on administrative work and working to integrate emergency room resources.
He had passed the hospital’s annual evaluations every year, he said.
As reasons for dismissal, the hospital said he had not done enough clinical work and had reported false travel expenses, Chen said, adding that he was appealing the decision.
Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), a former physician who used to head National Taiwan University Hospital’s traumatology department, was asked to comment on the resignations.
“This is a serious problem that has been going on for more than 10 years, so what happened today is only the tip of the iceberg,” Ko said.
The failure of the hospital classification and patient referral systems in Taiwan has led many people to seek treatment at hospitals first.
“It is an institutional problem,” he said. “There are always about 150 people waiting to be hospitalized at National Taiwan University Hospital at all times, and I think the situation at Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital could be worse.”
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