Many medical facilities in Nghe An lack ambulances.

Car shortage due to "nobody showing up for bids"

Recently, medical centers in some localities in the province have reported to authorities and functional agencies about the lack of ambulances to transport emergency patients; more attention is needed to resolve problems in the procurement process.

Ambulance is an important specialized form of transportation in medical examination and treatment activities, meeting the need for timely emergency care and protecting people's health. Photo: Document

Doctor Dang Tan Minh - Director of Quy Chau District Medical Center said: In 2021, the center proposed to buy an ambulance to provide emergency care for patients in the area. Quy Chau District People's Committee issued Decision No. 4385/QD-UBND dated December 22, 2021, supplementing the 2021 State budget estimate with an amount of 800 million VND for purchase. Along with that, the center also issued Decision No. 142/QD-TTYT to allocate 50 million VND from the career development fund to add to the purchase of ambulances.

In the third quarter of 2022, the District Medical Center completed the procedures to transfer to the Financial Support and Consulting Center (Nghe An Department of Finance) to carry out centralized procurement through open bidding online. However, no unit participated in this centralized procurement package for ambulances, so at the end of 2022, the above money had to be returned to the budget.

“The province only sets the standard for ambulances for Quy Chau district and other districts at 850 million VND. Meanwhile, now there is no unit that produces an 850 million VND vehicle, but at least 1.2 billion VND. The inability to purchase an ambulance has caused many difficulties for the center in its operations. This is also a big disadvantage for the emergency transportation of patients in the area,” Dr. Dang Tan Minh stated.

Similarly, the ambulance of Que Phong District Medical Center, which was granted by the project in 2012, was broken and had no spare parts, which greatly affected the emergency care of patients. In 2022, the center was allowed by the Provincial People's Committee to buy an ambulance (valued at VND 850 million). The Department of Health also completed all procedures but could not buy it when it was centrally bid because there were no participating units.

Doctor Lang Van - Director of Que Phong District Medical Center shared: Feedback from the two bidding rounds showed that no unit participated. Currently, there is no vehicle on the market that meets all the required configurations at a price of 850 million VND. The District Medical Center has also sent a document to the Department of Health asking for a solution.

Not only the Medical Centers of Que Phong and Quy Chau districts, but also many other medical units in the province in 2022 were unable to purchase ambulances for the above reason. According to statistics from the Nghe An Department of Finance, in 2022, the whole province invited bids for 11 specialized cars. After announcing 3-4 bids according to regulations, only 1 car won the bid (Forestry Department), 10 cars had no bids.

Need attention to solve

Ambulances are an important specialized form of transportation in medical examination and treatment activities, meeting the need for timely emergency care and protecting people's health. In Nghe An, there are currently two types of ambulances: those managed by medical facilities and those owned by organizations and individuals. According to information from the Department of Health, by the end of 2022, Nghe An has 107 ambulances managed by hospitals and medical centers, with full lights and priority sirens. As for vehicles owned by organizations and individuals (not under the authority of the Department of Health), there are approximately 200 vehicles.

Authorities at all levels need to create conditions for medical facilities to be able to purchase and ensure the needs of patient emergency services. Photo: Document

The difference between these two types of ambulances is not only in the license, signal lights, and priority siren, but also in the technical requirements and human resources. Most ambulances belonging to organizations and individuals do not have the necessary medical equipment for emergency care when transporting patients and do not have medical staff accompanying them when transferring patients to the hospital in an emergency situation.

According to the general assessment of the health sector, the current number of ambulances assigned to medical facilities cannot meet the demand for patient transportation. The shortage of ambulances is not only a story of district-level medical examination and treatment facilities but also occurs in large hospitals.

Faced with the shortage of ambulances, many medical units in the province have had to "rent" ambulances from organizations and individuals to serve their operational needs. Doctor Pham Dinh Luyen - Director of Quy Hop District Medical Center said: Currently, the center has 1 ambulance. This is a vehicle that the district mobilized many years ago. To ensure operations, the center has linked up with an additional vehicle from outside to serve emergency patients, especially during the peak of the Covid-19 epidemic. However, the "rented" vehicle is rarely used due to many disagreements.

With such a number of vehicles, currently, the emergency transportation activities of the Quy Hop District Medical Center can only ensure the transportation of emergency patients from the medical station to the district, from the district to the province, but cannot bring patients back home. The center's ambulances operate almost 24 hours a day. The center has also proposed to the Department of Health to arrange vehicles according to the project program but has not yet been able to purchase them.

In fact, organizing services in conjunction with individuals and businesses to transport patients contains many risks. In recent years, in Nghe An, there have been many incidents of vehicles of organizations and individuals taking advantage of the image ofambulanceto trade in banned goods; ambulance drivers quarreling and fighting while transporting patients; ambulance drivers getting lost and arriving late, causing a woman who had just given birth to die, suspected of not receiving timely emergency care... These incidents have distorted the image of the medical industry and medical examination and treatment facilities.

Dr. Nguyen Van Thuong - Deputy Director of Nghe An Department of Health stated: In this situation, it is clear that relevant levels, sectors and units need to do a good job of appraisal to soon consider raising the quota of ambulances; create conditions for medical facilities to be able to purchase, ensuring the needs of serving emergency patient care activities... Localities also need to prioritize budget allocation for medical activities in general and ambulance purchase in particular. At the same time, mobilize and call on benefactors to donateambulancefor medical units./.