Director of Department of Health: From 2021 to present, Nghe An has 119 medical staff resigning

On the afternoon of July 13, in Vinh City, the 7th Session of the 18th Nghe An Provincial People's Council, term 2021 - 2026, entered its second working day. The Provincial People's Council conducted a question and answer session.

The Provincial People's Council conducts a question and answer session. Photo: Thanh Cuong

Delegate Phan Thi Minh Ly (Yen Thanh unit) asked a question to the commander of the health sector. Photo: Thanh Cuong

Delegate Phan Thi Minh Ly (Yen Thanh unit) asked: Currently, there is a situation of medical staff across the country quitting their jobs, especially in the public sector. So, how is this situation developing in Nghe An, what are the causes and solutions of the province in the coming time to prevent and limit the above situation, in the context of the Covid-19 epidemic having new variants, the risk of a re-outbreak is very high?

119 medical staff resigned

Answering the question of delegate Phan Minh Ly, Mr. Duong Dinh Chinh - Director of the Department of Health said that this is a current, "hot" situation in all localities across the country.

For Nghe An, since the beginning of 2021, 119 medical staff have resigned for various reasons, of which nearly half are doctors, ranking second in the North Central region. "We are fortunate that of the 119 medical staff who resigned, nearly two-thirds moved from public health units to non-public health units; one-third had health reasons and other personal reasons," said Mr. Chinh.

According to the Director of the Department of Health, there are three main reasons for the above situation. The first is the treatment regime for medical staff, especially preventive medicine and primary health care. Previously, there was Decree 56 of the Government on special regimes for medical staff, but the decree is more than 10 years old and is no longer suitable. Currently, the Ministry of Health and other ministries and branches are consulting the Government for changes.

Mr. Duong Dinh Chinh - Director of the Department of Health answered and explained the questions of the delegates. Photo: Thanh Cuong

Second, for the hospital levels in Nghe An, only the Mental Hospital is not yet autonomous. During the tense period of the Covid-19 epidemic, the number of patients coming to the hospital decreased, affecting the revenue of the hospitals. At the autonomous units, there are still 3 criteria that have not been implemented to calculate the correct and full price, so the career resources of these units are very difficult. In addition to the salary regime, the allowance regime for medical staff at these hospitals has decreased significantly.

"Currently, the private hospital system in Nghe An is very developed with 16 hospitals. From here, there is a shift from public to non-public units," Mr. Chinh said and gave an example: A newly graduated doctor working at a provincial public hospital will only earn 5-7 million VND/month. Meanwhile, at a private hospital, this doctor can be paid 15-20 million VND/month.

For newly graduated interns, public hospitals only pay 15-20 million VND/month, while private hospitals can pay 70-100 million VND/month. "Therefore, attracting doctors, especially good doctors, is difficult in public health facilities," Mr. Chinh said.

According to the head of the health sector, another reason is work pressure. The Covid-19 pandemic has "worn out" the strength of medical staff, like "a spring that has stretched out". In the past time, medical staff at hospitals had to do two jobs at the same time, ensuring medical examination and treatment, and preventing and fighting the Covid-19 pandemic, so the work was very stressful.

Provincial People's Council delegates attend the question and answer session. Photo: Pham Bang

Improve benefits and working environment

On the other hand, according to Mr. Duong Dinh Chinh, the working environment in public health units has its own characteristics, the demand for medical examination and treatment is increasing in both quantity and quality, requiring medical staff to innovate a lot, and to have good health and capacity, especially in autonomous units.

"Previously, medical staff were very eager to work in public hospitals, but now it's different. Non-public units are more easily invested in machinery, so medical staff have more conditions to practice and improve their skills. From there, there is a shift from public to non-public," said Mr. Chinh.

Faced with this situation, according to the Director of the Department of Health, the solution in the coming time is to carry out political and ideological education well, listen to the aspirations of medical staff. Direct medical units to promptly commend individuals with achievements in epidemic prevention and control and medical examination and treatment to serve the people, and submit to the authorities for timely rewards and encouragement.

In the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic, perhaps no one has done the hardest, most arduous, and most silent sacrifices than the female medical staff at the treatment area for severe and critical Covid-19 patients. Photo: Thanh Cuong

In addition, the Department has directed hospitals to improve benefits and care for the lives of medical staff. Continue to improve the working environment so that medical staff feel more secure and committed to public hospitals.

However, according to the Director of the Department of Health, to fundamentally resolve this situation, the industry has proposed that the Ministry of Health in the coming time need to correctly and fully calculate the price of medical services, create favorable conditions, increase revenue for medical units, and improve the regime for medical staff.

In addition, the Department of Health also requested the Provincial Party Committee, the Provincial People's Council, and the Provincial People's Committee to continue to pay attention to and promptly commend and reward individuals with outstanding achievements in disease prevention and control, medical examination and treatment for people. Have policies to attract human resources in the health sector, especially at the district level and in the public health sector. Continue to invest in improving the working environment; have policies to maintain the payroll for non-autonomous health units and preventive medicine./.

Pham Bang