Japanese hospitals strive to find doctors during 10-day Golden Week

Hospitals are striving to find enough doctors during the unprecedented vacation period of Gold Week which began Saturday and has been extended to 10 days to accommodate the imperial succession.

By hiring doctors to work temporarily, many medical institutions have sought to give their regular doctors days off, as the medical sector, as well as other sectors, aims to change the notorious culture of long working hours. However, some rural hospitals have abandoned their temporary recruitment projects and are asking their own doctors to work longer.

Mr. Stage Co., a Tokyo-based medical staff services company, said that as of April 22, 4,538 physician dispatch requests had been sent between April 27 and May 6, either about 800 more than she had received during the Golden Week period last year. .

Although medical institutions generally look for doctors who can take care of hospitalized patients during the vacation period, the demand is higher this year for those who can consult outpatients, according to the company.

"Many medical institutions have recruited staff well before the holidays, but those who are still in numbers have decided to offer higher pay," said a senior staff member at Stage.

Japan has enacted a law providing for one-off holidays that will extend Golden Week this year. The government hopes that these festive days will help the nation celebrate the enthronement of Crown Prince Naruhito on May 1, following the abdication of his father, Emperor Akihito, the day before, and serve as a means of remedying to the long working hours of the country.

The move was not fully welcomed, however, as many businesses, including banks and crèches, will be closed during this period. The longer holiday season can therefore prolong working hours and disrupt the work-life balance for those working in the service sector.

"I wonder if the government has thoroughly examined the impact on the medical sector," said a hospital official in Hokkaido.

Rural hospitals are badly understaffed and have trouble finding replacements.

Hokkaido Hospital itself began looking for replacement doctors to fill its night shifts during Gold Week, but the efforts were unsuccessful. As a result, he decided to have more doctors on his staff to fill the night shifts, according to the manager.

In Tokyo, Hamadayama Hospital in the Suginami district, which carries out more than 1,000 orthopedic surgeries a year, hired two doctors to work temporarily during the holidays. They will support the seven full-time doctors at the hospital so that he can open some of his departments for four days during the holidays and see patients who need to be treated at least once a week.

"We wanted the staff doctors to take as much of their days off as we are urged to change the way they work," said a hospital official.

Japan has introduced a labor reform law with the aim of changing long-standing work behavior, setting a legal ceiling for extra work and applying a principle of equal pay for equal work.

Starting this month, large companies will be sanctioned if they do not respect the maximum limit of 100 hours per month and 720 hours per year for overtime.