National psychiatric hospitals' bed utilization rate declines due to shortage of specialists

National mental hospitals, including the National Gongju Hospital in Gongju, South Chungcheong Province, are having difficulty operating due to a shortage of psychiatrists. At Gongju Hospital, only 3 of the 10 allotted specialists are fulltime doctors, and the number of actual inpatients has remained at around 33 out of 100 beds. According to an audit by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the staffing rate of specialists at five national mental hospitals across the country, including the National Center for Mental Health, fell from 61.2% in 2019 to 49.1% last year. During the same period, the average bed occupancy rate also dropped from 56.7% to 25.5%, and the average length of hospitalization per patient also decreased. Some hospitals even suspended operation of inpatient wards due to failure to secure specialists. Meanwhile, the number of psychiatric patients needing emergency hospitalization is increasing. According to the National Police Agency, emergency hospitalization referrals to psychiatric medical institutions last year totaled 20,839, a sharp increase from five years ago. The medical community believes that while the role of national mental hospitals is important in a situation where private hospitals are reluctant to accept severe patients, low pay, reluctance to work in provincial areas, and increased workload are worsening the staffing shortage.