A patient is being transported to a university hospital in Seoul on Sept. 30. Yonhap

On the evening of Sept. 11, a distress call was made to the police in Seoul, reporting that a man who had been suffering from depression attempted to harm himself at home by igniting charcoal briquettes.

Faced with a high risk of self-harm, the police immediately requested an emergency admission for him. However, despite the urgency, he was only admitted at 2:30 a.m. the next day, six hours after the initial call.

In another case on March 1, police in Songpa District, Seoul, responded to a report about a mental health patient who threatened to kill his family by setting their house on fire. Though deemed highly dangerous, he faced a similar delay in emergency admission due to a lack of available hospital beds.

The only facility with availability, the National Center for Mental Health, was unable to admit him for two hours, resulting in his admission eight hours after the initial report.

As the health care system faces ongoing challenges, the time required for emergency admissions for mental health patients — critical for cases involving self-harm or threats to others — has significantly increased.

Despite a steady flow of emergency calls related to mental health crises, police and emergency responders are struggling to find available beds, often leading to long waits and frantic phone calls between facilities.

A patient is being transported to a university hospital in Seoul on Sept. 25 as the nationwide chaos in emergency rooms continues due to medical staff shortages. Yonhap

Data obtained by Rep. So Byeong-hoon of the opposition Democratic Party of Korea revealed that, in over half of Korea's 17 major regions, the average time required for an emergency admission increased between February and August this year.

For example, in Seoul, the time required for admission jumped from two hours and 32 minutes in January to three hours and 29 minutes in August. In Daejeon, the average wait time nearly doubled, increasing from 39 minutes in January to over two hours in August.

This increase in wait times is despite a growing demand for emergency admissions. Between January and August this year, police handled over 12,000 emergency admissions, but medical staff shortages have led to delays, with both mental health beds and medical personnel in short supply.

The ongoing crisis has resulted in multiple cases where mental health patients, despite being in critical condition, faced hours-long waits for emergency care.

One case in May involved a suicide attempt that required nine hours before the patient was admitted. Another case in March saw a homeless person with severe hallucinations waiting for six hours before receiving care.

"The demand for emergency mental health admissions is rising, but with fewer available beds and a shortage of medical professionals, regional disparities in care are worsening," So said. "The ongoing health care crisis is putting mental health patients at even greater risk, and immediate measures must be taken to resolve the challenges on the ground."

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, a sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.