[Provided by Daegu city government]
[Provided by Daegu city government]

The Daegu city government signed a memorandum of understanding Monday with major local hospitals to support a contract-based regional essential physician program at its Sangyeok office.

The signing ceremony was attended by Kyungpook National University Hospital, Yeungnam University Hospital, Keimyung University Dongsan Hospital, Daegu Catholic University Medical Center, Daegu Fatima Hospital and Daegu Medical Center.

Under the agreement, the parties will provide administrative and fiscal support for program operations, manage and evaluate the initiative, create stable settlement conditions for participating physicians, recruit specialists in line with program guidelines, and cooperate to ensure favorable working and residential environments.

The city will begin full-scale support for 20 specialists across eight essential medical fields starting next month. It also plans to secure a funding base for the program through a second supplementary budget.

Support will in principle be limited to specialists within five years of obtaining their qualifications.

The eight eligible specialties are internal medicine, general surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, emergency medicine, cardiovascular and thoracic surgery, neurology and neurosurgery.

"This agreement is a starting point for the city and local medical institutions to work together and lay the groundwork for closing gaps in essential medical care," Daegu Mayor Choo Kyung-ho said. "We will do our utmost alongside the local medical community to build a safety net for essential healthcare."


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