Nghe An Health Sector strengthens attraction and consolidation of human resources to effectively implement Resolution 26

PV:Sir, 2022 is the 9th year that Nghe An implements Resolution 26-NQ/TW of the Politburo. Implementing this Resolution, the provincial health sector has set a goal of building the locality into a center of health in the North Central region. To date, how far has the health sector achieved this goal?

Dr. Nguyen Huu Le:Resolution 26-NQ/TW is a major resolution, comprehensive in directing and operating all aspects of the province's socio-economic life, including the health sector. When the Resolution was issued, the Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial People's Committee identified the health sector as one of the pioneering sectors to implement targets, objectives and direct resolutely. The health sector has advised the Provincial Party Committee, the People's Council, and the People's Committee on directive documents; developed action plans and programs to implement the Resolution.

During the 9 years of implementing the Resolution, although there have been many changes in the development roadmap, the health sector has still steadfastly implemented the goals as led and directed by the Provincial Party Committee, People's Council, and Provincial People's Committee.

In this roadmap, the health sector has built a health network that develops evenly and widely. The grassroots health system with 460 commune, ward and town health stations has been increasingly consolidated, with more investment in facilities, staff, and implementation of specialized techniques. Grassroots health has been very proactive in performing the task of providing primary health care for the people and preventing epidemics.

Nghe An General Friendship Hospital performs kidney transplant for patient. Photo: Thanh Chung

The province has 13 provincial hospitals; 7 district-level general hospitals; 21 district, city and town medical centers; 16 private hospitals... The district-level medical system has seen the emergence of models of general hospitals and multi-functional medical centers with stable development.

At the provincial level, general and specialized hospitals and the private healthcare system have also developed rapidly. Many of these units have been invested in advanced, synchronous and closed-loop equipment.

The sector has also boldly arranged the health network in a suitable and streamlined manner, such as merging the Population Center into the District Health Center; boldly giving autonomy to medical examination and treatment units.

Currently, 12 provincial units and 7 district units have implemented autonomy. Thereby, the state budget has been saved more than 300 billion VND and thousands of staff have been streamlined. More importantly, the medical examination and treatment units have found a direction to ensure stable and sustainable development.

After 9 years of implementation, it can be said that the health sector has basically completed and achieved the main targets of Resolution 26-NQ/TW. Specifically, Nghe An has achieved 35.72 hospital beds/10,000 people, 11 doctors/10,000 people. This is the target that Nghe An ranks first in the region.

In addition, other rates also achieved quite good results, such as the rate of malnourished children under 5 years old is 15.4% underweight and 25.7% stunted; 93% of communes meet the National Health Criteria.

In technical development, Nghe An has achieved 3 extremely important goals to become a regional medical center, which are: Building an In Vitro Fertilization Center (Nghe An General Hospital), a Radiation Therapy Center (Oncology Hospital); performing organ transplant techniques (kidney)...

Nghe An General Friendship Hospital has been recognized as the final hospital of the region. Nghe An Oncology, Obstetrics and Pediatrics, and Traditional Medicine Hospitals are also on this path.

In addition, it is necessary to add that the health sector has proactively applied information technology and strongly reformed administration. In particular, medical examination and treatment facilities have applied the smart hospital model with electronic medical records, image data connection systems, testing, remote medical examination and treatment... creating convenience for patients.

PV:The achievements in the past time are great. However, it is known that the health sector is currently facing many difficulties such as the increasing demand for medical examination and treatment in terms of quantity and quality; changing disease patterns... In the face of these difficulties, will we adjust our goals?

Dr. Nguyen Huu Le:It is necessary to face that currently and in the near future, the health sector will have to face many difficulties and challenges, both subjective and objective. The development of networks, human resources, and technical expertise is essential to implement the socialization of health care, but is being hindered by very old mechanisms that are no longer suitable for reality.

Second, disease patterns are changing rapidly, with developments that no one can predict, especially after the Covid-19 pandemic subsides.

Third, through the recent pandemic, the health care network somewhere in the province has also been disrupted.

Performing radiotherapy for cancer patients at Nghe An Oncology Hospital. Photo: Tu Thanh

In addition to the difficulties, the health sector also has advantages, which are: The State and localities have been paying great attention to mechanisms and policies for the health sector. The sector also receives more attention from the community and society...

Faced with such difficulties and advantages, Nghe An Health sector clearly determined to continue to thoroughly implement the common goal of striving to be the leader in the North Central region as clearly stated in Resolution 26.

The health sector has proposed key tasks and solutions to implement, including: Strengthening the network system, focusing on primary health care at district and commune levels. Primary health care is developed to bring services closer to the people, while regulating the flow of patients, avoiding overloading at higher levels. People will be more satisfied and comfortable when receiving medical examination and treatment.

Strengthening the grassroots health network includes investing in infrastructure and attracting human resources. To do this, we hope that local authorities will pay attention to investment and have specific policies to attract human resources. It is necessary to have doctors working at commune health stations and specialists working at district health centers.

In addition, the medical units themselves must also create a good working environment for doctors to help them develop their expertise. Regarding human resources, the health sector will also try to regulate human resources between public and non-public sectors appropriately. Particularly for professional development at the district level, the health sector will continue to direct provincial units to provide direct training in the form of on-the-job training; continue to promote satellite hospital projects.

Regarding the development of cutting-edge and specialized medical examination and treatment techniques, the industry focuses on prioritizing the establishment and development of necessary specialized hospitals in the coming time such as the Cardiovascular Hospital; consolidating existing hospitals such as the Endocrinology Hospital, Orthopedics and Trauma Hospital, Obstetrics and Pediatrics Hospital, Oncology Hospital, etc.

To be worthy of being a regional center, the industry will direct the continued improvement of in vitro fertilization techniques and their replication and development at Nghe An Obstetrics and Pediatrics Hospital. Nghe An General Hospital will promote the development of advanced techniques, after kidney transplantation, moving on to other organ transplantation.

Nghe An Oncology Hospital operates a radiotherapy center that regularly treats many types of cancer. Nghe An Obstetrics and Pediatrics Hospital effectively implements prenatal screening; develops pediatric neurosurgery techniques and pediatric vascular malformations.

Assisted reproductive technology at the General Hospital of Friendship has helped many families escape infertility. Photo: Hoang Yen

In the field of preventive medicine, the health sector has directed that there needs to be a change in the perspective on prevention, which is to be proactive in disease prevention; regularly do a good job of grasping the situation, forecasting the situation in the world and in the country about new and strange diseases; do a good job of controlling diseases with specific plans, action programs, always ready, not to be passive... The sector has a program to develop the Provincial Center for Disease Control with enhanced functions and tasks.

In addition, the health sector also directed health units to pay special attention to health financial management. The sector assigned heads of units to carefully study management work and health socialization plans. The heads must not only be good at their profession but also have a firm grasp of financial work. Health units must also continue to focus on promoting administrative reform, focusing on patient-centered service; actively building smart hospitals, digitizing electronic medical records; and strongly applying information technology.

PV:Recently, hospitals are still facing many difficulties in the payment mechanism for medical examination and treatment under health insurance. In addition, there is also a situation of public health workers quitting their jobs... Does this situation seriously affect the implementation of the development goals of the health sector?

Dr. Nguyen Huu Le:It must be affirmed that the health insurance policy is very good and humane. And for a long time, the provincial Social Insurance agency and the Nghe An Health sector have had very close coordination in the use and management of the health insurance fund.

However, it must be said that in the settlement of medical examination and treatment under health insurance, there are many shortcomings and inadequacies that need to be adjusted. The regulations have not kept up with reality. The fact that the documents are no longer suitable has caused difficulties for the Social Insurance agency and the health sector in using and controlling the fund. This has led to the situation of disbursement, non-acceptance of payment, late payment... for a long time.

Faced with this situation, the industryMedicalhas directed health insurance medical examination and treatment facilities to properly implement the guiding documents while waiting for adjustments; be aware of using the fund effectively and economically. The industry also proposed that the provincial Social Insurance agency regularly work closely with the health sector to control the fund in a timely manner.

The sector directs health units to gradually develop socialization projects, use public assets, and provide high-quality medical examination and treatment to serve many patients, ensuring the safety of the fund. However, it must be said that the health sector is in need of new guidelines for implementation, ensuring that the project is rigorously implemented.

Regarding the medical staff, there have been major changes recently in many localities across the country. Although Nghe An has not really seen any major changes, 119 public health workers have applied to transfer out of the public sector, change jobs, and some have also quit their jobs. Our health sector is very afraid of this change. Ifmedical staffMoving from public to non-public is also serving patients; the only concern is that grassroots medical staff quit their jobs. This is a gap that is not easy to fill, affecting the development of the grassroots medical network. The consolidation and improvement of the quality of grassroots medical care cannot be done.

Hopefully, when the epidemic and everything has stabilized, medical staff will gradually return to normal activities. The health sector itself will also try to do a good job of political and ideological work for medical staff so that they can feel secure in their profession and their unit.

PV:In order for Nghe An to soon complete all its goals and maintain its position as the medical center of the North Central region, what support does the Nghe An health sector need, sir?

Many advanced and specialized techniques in medical examination and treatment have been developed by Nghe An's health sector over the past 9 years. Photo courtesy of reporter

Dr. Nguyen Huu Le:The health sector boldly proposes to the National Assembly and the Government to promptly and promptly adjust laws and sub-law documents related to medical examination and treatment such as the Law on Medical Examination and Treatment, the Law on Health Insurance, or for example, Decree 146 of the Government guiding the method of health insurance payment.

Propose to the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Home Affairs to soon issue an inter-ministerial circular guiding the list of job position frameworks, specialized job title structure and the number of employees working in public health facilities so that the health sector has a basis for implementation and building the apparatus...

Nghe An province has long been interested in, directed and created favorable conditions for the development of the health sector. In the coming time, it is hoped that the province will continue to have its own specific mechanism, prioritizing the allocation of finance to implement programs from medium and long-term financial sources, especially target programs managed by the Government and the Ministry... to create a boost for the health system to develop more strongly.

PV:Thank you!