Since
the start of the crisis at Tokyo Electric Power Co's Fukushima No 1 nuclear
power plant, hundreds of doctors and nurses have resigned from nearby facilities,
according to a survey by an association of Fukushima Prefecture hospitals.
Their departures have resulted in some
hospitals in the prefecture suspending nighttime emergency care and other
treatment services, the association said.
The survey found that 125 full-time doctors
had resigned from 24 hospitals in the prefecture, or 12 per cent of all doctors
working at those institutions.
As for nurses, 407 had quit from 42 hospitals
in the prefecture, representing 5 per cent of the nursing staff at those institutions.
The survey was conducted in late July. There
are 139 hospitals in the prefecture, and the survey covered all 127 that belong
to the association, with 54 providing responses.
The survey found that the highest rate of
doctors left from hospitals in Minami-Soma. Thirteen doctors resigned from four
hospitals in the city, including one inside the no-entry zone. The figure
represents 46 percent of the four institutions' total staff of doctors.
In Iwaki, 31 doctors at five hospitals, or 23
per cent, resigned. In Fukushima, 41 doctors at six hospitals, or 9 per cent,
left their jobs. In Koriyama, 25 doctors at four hospitals quit, or 8 per cent.
As for nurses, in Minami-Soma 44 left their
jobs at four hospitals, or 16 per cent of those institutions' total nursing
staff. The figure includes two nurses who quit a hospital inside the no-entry
zone.
In Iwaki, 113 nurses at seven hospitals, or 8
per cent, resigned. In Fukushima, 68 at nine hospitals, or 4 per cent, quit. In
Koriyama, 54 at six hospitals, or 4 per cent, resigned.
The association assumes most of the doctors
and nurses who resigned did so due to their desire to leave the area amid
concern about radiation exposure stemming from the nuclear disaster.
The actual number of doctors and nurses who
have resigned could be much larger if the hospitals that did not respond to the
survey and non-association member hospitals are included.
Minami-Soma hit hard
Minami-Soma is located within the areas that
were previously designated as emergency evacuation preparation zones. The
designation was lifted Friday, but the exodus of nearly 50 per cent of the
city's hospital doctors and 16 per cent of hospital nurses could cause serious
difficulties for local residents.
At Minami-Soma City General Hospital, the
number of doctors has fallen from 14 to seven in the wake of the disaster, and
42 nurses have resigned (including some who quit after the survey).
The association said most of the departing
doctors and nurses cited evacuation from the nuclear disaster as their reason.
However, doctors who quit the hospital's obstetrics and gynecology department
and pediatrics department said they were doing so because their patients had
already left the city.
The city hospital has suspended services in
its ophthalmology, otorhinology (ear and nose) and two other departments.
Hospital President Yukio Kanazawa said,
"(The nuclear accident) destroyed the local community and our medical
services.
"The end of the nuclear crisis is still
not in sight, so I can't ask the doctors who've left to come back," he
said.
At Yotsukura Byoin, a psychiatric hospital in
Iwaki, about 35 kilometres from the Fukushima No 1 nuclear power plant, three
of the institution's six full-time doctors left the prefecture soon after the
nuclear crisis began. Two of the three resigned at the end of March.
One of them said, "I'm concerned about
radiation because I've got a small child."
The two doctors have since found new jobs in
Nagano Prefecture, where their respective parents live.
In late August, the hospital asked one of the
doctors via e-mail to return, saying radiation levels in the city had fallen.
The hospital received no reply.
Thirty nurses, or about 30 per cent of nursing
staff, also resigned from Yotsukura Byoin. Most were originally from other
prefectures, and many of them have started new jobs in their hometowns.
The hospital has had to stop providing
nighttime emergency services. The number of inpatients it can accept is now
capped at about 160, about 50 fewer than before the disaster.
Isamu Otani, 62, the hospital's clerical
director, said: "It's difficult to stop doctors and their families
leaving, because they're worried about radiation. We're searching for new
doctors, but we've had no applications."
The Fukushima prefectural government allocated
450 million yen for recruitment of doctors and nurses in the extra budget it
compiled in September. It plans to provide funds to medical institutions to
help them deal with the staffing shortage, and has asked the Japan Medical
Association and other organizations to dispatch doctors on a temporary basis.
News Desk
The Yomiuri Shimbun
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