More than a third of South Korea’s public long-term care hospitals with specialized dementia wards had no dementia-related specialist, according to government data reported by the Dong-A Ilbo. As of August, 24 of 63 hospitals, or 38.1%, recorded no specialists in neurology, neurosurgery or psychiatry, the departments counted as relevant to dementia care.
The staffing gap is visible at Danyang County Public Geriatric Hospital in North Chungcheong Province. Its specialized ward had 32 dementia patients but no physician from the listed specialties. Occupational therapy and clinical psychology positions were also vacant. The Ministry of Health and Welfare identified the need to recruit essential personnel during a March inspection, yet the vacancies remained about six months later.
The figures do not establish that the affected hospitals had no doctors at all. They show that none of the specialists in the three dementia-related fields were present under the government’s measure. That distinction matters, but so does the role of specialist expertise in assessing behavioral or neurological symptoms and coordinating care for patients with complex needs.
Persistent vacancies strain public dementia care
The reported shortage extends beyond small facilities. The cited material names Busan Geriatric Hospital No. 3, with 110 beds, and Namwon Geriatric Hospital in North Jeolla Province, with 97 beds, among the larger specialized dementia facilities discussed. The available excerpt does not provide enough detail to state the precise staffing position at either hospital.
South Korea has about 1 million people with dementia, increasing the importance of reliable public care capacity. The report said some dementia wards had suspended operations because of personnel shortages. Attention now centers on whether hospitals fill the documented vacancies and whether health authorities introduce measures that make specialist recruitment sustainable outside better-served areas.