Ministry of Health prohibits forcing patients to use hospital ambulances

Faced with the shortcomings in hiring ambulances at medical facilities, the Ministry of Health requires hospitals to post prices for services so that people can know and freely choose.

In a document dated July 12 sent to leaders of medical facilities and directors of the Department of Health, Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Kim Tien acknowledged that services provided by units outside the hospital such as security, emergency patient transportation, vehicle parking, funeral services, etc. still have many shortcomings that cause public outrage. This negatively affects the image of doctors and medical facilities.

Ambulance - Illustration

Therefore, the Minister requested that hospital leaders take measures to prevent violations; strictly handle, even terminate contracts if violations occur or there is bad behavior, affecting the rights of patients. These rental and contract services must be publicly bid, and hospitals must choose service providers that ensure quality and reasonable prices.

Hospitals must post prices for these services so that patients and their families know and can freely choose; develop operating regulations based on the principles of openness and transparency, especially for patient transportation services. The Ministry of Health prohibits the act of forcing patients and their families to use hospital services that have been signed with outside parties.

Medical units are also required to promptly report data on services they are hiring or outsourcing to the Department of Health, Ministry of Health, and industry to synthesize and report to the Ministry.Currently, many additional services at hospitals such as parking, canteen, ambulance, taxi... are contracted by the medical facility or hired to another unit outside the hospital. During the implementation process, many errors occur, causing inconvenience to patients and their families.

The incident of a security guard at the National Children's Hospital blocking a private ambulance from taking a dying child home on July 2 caused public outrage. The hospital director apologized to the patient's family and the public; the three security guards involved were also fired.Many people suspect that hospital security guards colluded with "brokers" to force patients to use outside ambulances, ambulances contracted by the hospital.

According to VNE