Many overlapping regulations make it difficult for hospitals to bid for medical equipment purchases.
That is the reflection of the Oncology Hospital in the working session with the survey delegation of the Culture - Social Committee, Provincial People's Council led by comrade Chu Duc Thai - Head of the Culture - Social Committee, Provincial People's Council on the morning of August 29.
Many medical devices do not have a repair or replacement mechanism.
According to the report of the Oncology Hospital, from 2021 to present, the procurement of medicines, supplies, and basic medical equipment has met the needs of use, serving the hospital's operations and the treatment needs of the people.
However, there are still some local shortages of drugs and a lot of medical equipment when implementing activities at the phase 2 hospital project. The procurement of medical equipment is slow to be implemented. From 2021 to September 2023, the Oncology Hospital cannot carry out any medical equipment procurement package.
The hospital has been submitting a bid for the procurement of medical equipment since June 2024, but up to now, after nearly 3 months, although the documents are complete and the procedures are followed correctly and fully, the hospital has not yet been issued a procurement decision to proceed with the bidding for the procurement of medical equipment.
Dr. Nguyen Quang Trung - Director of the Oncology Hospital said that the shortage of drugs, supplies and medical equipment occurs throughout the province, especially many equipment are "shelved" due to not being repaired and maintained regularly and promptly. The cause of this situation is due to the long process of bidding and purchasing.
State legal documents in the field of bidding are constantly changing and have a short effective period, leading to confusion for many units in implementation; some regulations are not suitable to reality, making them difficult to apply.
The representative of the Oncology Hospital said that the Provincial People's Council has issued 2 Resolutions on decentralization of authority to decide on procurement in Nghe An province (Resolution 02/2018/NQ-HDND dated July 20, 2018 and Resolution 11/2024/NQ-HDND dated July 11, 2024), but limited the heads of public service units under departments, branches, provincial-level units, and under the district-level People's Committees to only decide on the procurement of goods and services for bidding packages and procurement contents with a value of less than 100 million VND/1 unit of goods and services or a total purchase value of less than 150 million VND/1 purchase of many types of goods and services.
Recommendations to remove difficulties and obstacles
Due to the difficulties and problems in the process of purchasing, managing and using drugs, medical supplies and equipment, the Oncology Hospital proposed that the Ministry of Health soon issue a Circular guiding the technical classification of medical supplies and equipment to contribute to creating favorable conditions for units in the work of building a list of medical supplies and equipment to ensure the selection of items that both meet professional requirements and are suitable for the financial capacity of the unit; adjust Clause a, Clause d, Section 1, Article 55 of the Law on Bidding to suit reality.
The Oncology Hospital also proposed that the Provincial People's Council amend 2 Resolutions on decentralization of authority to decide on procurement in Nghe An province so that units can be proactive and convenient in purchasing and bidding for urgent items in a more timely manner.
In addition, the Cancer HospitalIt is also proposed to establish a centralized Bidding Center for the supply of drugs, chemicals, and medical supplies with the function of organizing bidding for all types of drugs not included in the National Bidding Drug List and the Price Negotiation Drug List for all medical examination and treatment units in the province.
At the survey, Mr. Chu Duc Thai - Head of the Culture - Social Committee, Provincial People's Council shared the difficulties of the hospital in purchasing, managing and using drugs, supplies and medical equipment. At the same time, he requested the hospital to review, supplement, evaluate and make specific recommendations on the contents as required by the survey team. The survey team also requested the hospital to review drugs, supplies and medical equipment to have a timely purchasing plan, limiting the shortage of drugs and supplies affecting professional activities and the need for medical examination and treatment of the people./.