NEW TAIPEI (TVBS News) — New Taipei City Mayor Hou Yu-ih (侯友宜) on Tuesday (Feb. 25) emphasized that the central government must tackle long-term issues like retaining and incentivizing medical staff. Although the city implemented an enhanced emergency room rotation system during the Lunar New Year holiday, Hou described the short-term measure aims to address overcrowding and staffing shortages in emergency departments.
Before attending an event, Hou addressed concerns about overwhelmed emergency rooms, where doctors have reported insufficient beds and nursing staff. He stated that New Taipei's temporary system could activate the entire medical defense and referral mechanism if necessary.
With the upcoming 228 Peace Memorial Day holiday, the New Taipei City Department of Health (新北市衛生局) announced that most hospital outpatient services will pause on the first day, a national holiday. However, hospitals like Yonghe Cardinal Tien Hospital (永和耕莘醫院) and Ruifang Miner Hospital (瑞芳礦工醫院) will maintain regular outpatient services. On the holiday's second day, most hospitals resume Saturday hours, except for National Taiwan University Hospital Jinshan Branch (台大金山分院) and Far Eastern Memorial Hospital (亞東醫院).
On the holiday's final day, outpatient services will pause citywide, but emergency services will operate 24/7. Residents needing medical attention should call hospitals ahead to confirm service availability.
