87% of Gyeonggi Residents Say Public Hospitals like 'Gyeonggi Medical Center' Need Expansion

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Park No-hun] A survey shows that nine out of ten Gyeonggi residents believe that expanding public hospitals is "necessary."

Gyeonggi Province announced that in a public health and medical-related opinion survey conducted on 2,000 residents from September 25 to October 7, 87% of respondents answered that expansion of public hospitals such as Gyeonggi Medical Center is "necessary."

76% of respondents answered that the number of Gyeonggi Medical Centers is "insufficient," showing that the majority of residents have strong agreement on the need to expand public hospitals.

"Gyeonggi Medical Center" is a public hospital established by Gyeonggi Province, with a total of six hospitals operating in Suwon, Uijeongbu, Paju, Icheon, Anseong, and Pocheon.

As methods for expanding public hospitals, ▲expanded support for vulnerable populations using public hospitals ▲establishment of new public hospitals ▲introduction of cutting-edge medical facilities in public hospitals ▲cooperation between public hospitals and university hospitals all received similar responses at 17%.

Regarding priority regions for establishing new public hospitals, ▲areas without tertiary hospitals (30%) was cited as the highest, followed by ▲regions with large economically vulnerable populations (19%) ▲areas with fewer hospitals (19%) ▲areas with larger residential populations (16%) in order.

Regarding the appropriate operating method for public hospitals, "direct operation by Gyeonggi Province" (82%) was higher than "contracted operation by university hospitals, etc." (52%).

In examining the usage status of Gyeonggi Medical Center, the survey found that 18% of respondents had used Gyeonggi Medical Center.

Among users, satisfaction was "satisfied" at 61%, "neutral" at 30%, while "not satisfied" accounted for only 9%.

Users cited ▲proximity to the facility (46%) ▲lower treatment costs (30%) as the highest reasons for using Gyeonggi Medical Center.

In contrast, non-users answered ▲no need to visit a hospital (27%) ▲no Gyeonggi Medical Center nearby (27%) ▲unfamiliarity with Gyeonggi Medical Center (19%) ▲having a separate hospital they regularly visit (18%) in order.

Kim Jin-yeun, director of the Public Healthcare Division of Gyeonggi Province, said, "Through this survey result, we confirmed the necessity of expanding public hospitals like Gyeonggi Medical Center," and added, "However, plans for expanding public hospitals and regions for new establishments are matters that must be comprehensively reviewed considering various factors."

The survey was conducted by Gyeonggi Province through Korea Research, a polling organization, using an online survey method, with a margin of error of ±2.19%p at a 95% confidence level.