"Difficulties" in human resources for the healthcare sector.
(Baonghean) - In recent times, the province has implemented many preferential policies to attract and train university-trained doctors and pharmacists for public health facilities. However, in reality, many facilities find it very difficult to attract staff, especially specialized health facilities or those at the district level..
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| Doctors from the Nghe An Tuberculosis and Lung Disease Hospital examine patients. |
"In 22 years, we've only recruited 3 doctors."
This story takes place at Nghe An Psychiatric Hospital, a specialized unit within the healthcare sector. Currently, the hospital has 7 departments with a capacity of 245 beds, but the actual number of beds in use is over 300.
Therefore, the policies for medical staff working here also have specific advantages such as shorter working hours compared to the standard office hours, and salaries that are about 1.5 times higher than those in non-specialized public hospitals. However, this unit finds it very difficult to recruit doctors, even though the province has issued many incentive mechanisms.
Video clip of the Director of Nghe An Psychiatric Hospital speaking about human resources issues:
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According to Resolution No. 34/2011 of the Provincial People's Council on some policies for developing human resources in public health in Nghe An province, doctors and pharmacists who graduated from regular universities with excellent or good grades and have worked at the Mental Hospital for 5 years or more will receive financial support equivalent to 16 times the minimum wage;...
Currently, out of a total allocated staff of 195, the hospital only has 166, including 24 doctors, 3 nursing graduates, 13 nursing associates, 54 nursing technicians, 17 medical assistants, and 7 orderlies. The hospital is short of approximately 20 doctors based on the number of hospital beds. In addition, the hospital urgently needs orderlies to care for patients. However, each department only has one orderly, making the workload very heavy, while no new orderlies are being recruited.
According to Dr. Phan Kim Thin, Director of the Nghe An Psychiatric Hospital, it took 22 years, specifically from 1993 to 2015, for the hospital to recruit three doctors with formal university degrees. To meet the demand for medical examination and treatment, the hospital sent three medical assistants for training to become doctors, and they have now graduated. The hospital is currently sending seven more medical assistants for further training to become doctors.
Recently, the number of doctors applying for positions at the hospital has increased. “Currently, the hospital has 5 to 6 applications. Therefore, the shortage of doctors is not as critical as it has been in the past few decades. However, recruiting general practitioners with a GPA of at least 3.5 or higher is very difficult. This is because most of the applications we currently receive are in traditional medicine and preventive medicine.”
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| Dr. Pham Thi Hoa, who recently started working at Hung Nguyen General Hospital, is examining a patient. |
Meanwhile, at Hung Nguyen District General Hospital, recognizing the difficulty in recruiting doctors, in addition to the provincial and district's incentive policies, the hospital proactively implemented "incentive" mechanisms for doctors who choose to work there, such as: providing a 2 million VND allowance upon starting work, arranging free inpatient accommodation (electricity and water), and offering full benefits even for short periods; the hospital directly assigns personnel to handle the recruitment procedures within just one week;...
Video clip of the director of Hung Nguyen District General Hospital talking about human resources issues:
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Therefore, in 2015, this unit recruited 4 doctors, including 2 general practitioners and 2 traditional medicine doctors, after many years of not being able to recruit any doctors. However, with a capacity of 100 beds and an actual number of 135 beds, there are only 22 doctors.
The minimum quota has not been met.
In response to this situation, the Provincial People's Council issued Resolution No. 34/2011 on a number of policies for developing human resources in public health in the province, with many preferential mechanisms for attracting and training doctors and pharmacists. And, Decision No. 370/2012 approved the Project: “Development of university and postgraduate medical and pharmaceutical human resources in the health sector in Nghe An province during the period 2012 - 2020 (Project 370)”.
Over the four years of implementing Project 370, the recruitment of doctors reached 100% of the set target. However, according to the analysis of the Health sector, there is a disparity between different levels. While the recruitment of doctors at the provincial level reached 173.8% of the plan, the district level only reached 66% of the plan, and the commune level reached 64% of the plan. Similarly, the recruitment of university-trained pharmacists only reached 60% of the plan, with the provincial level achieving only 54% and the district level 68%.
Mr. Le Giang Nam, Head of the Personnel and Organization Department (Department of Health), stated that the imbalance in recruitment under Project 370 stems from the low supply, particularly of general practitioners. Therefore, newly graduated doctors often choose provincial hospitals due to better working conditions, while district-level hospitals and specialized hospitals face difficulties. The failure to recruit pharmacists is also due to the lack of available positions, leading units to rely primarily on self-training. "Perhaps we should focus our recruitment efforts on district and commune-level hospitals and specialized hospitals to increase the attractiveness of doctors to work there," Mr. Nam suggested. |
Regarding the overall human resources of the provincial health sector, in a document sent to the Department of Internal Affairs and the Provincial People's Committee concerning the staffing plan for 2016, the Department of Health stated that the number of assigned personnel in the entire sector is insufficient compared to the minimum standard, which significantly affects the quality of medical examination and treatment.
Accordingly, the healthcare sector had allocated 10,637 personnel as of April 2015. Meanwhile, to meet the minimum requirements for fulfilling assigned tasks (based on hospital beds and population size), a total of 13,142 personnel are needed. Therefore, the healthcare sector still lacks at least 2,515 personnel.
Currently, diseases and epidemic patterns are constantly changing and becoming increasingly complex. The demand for medical examination, treatment, and healthcare is constantly increasing. Therefore, in light of this situation, appropriate strategies are needed to ensure the human resources of the healthcare sector, especially for specialized units at the district and commune levels.
Nhat Le
