Healthcare at a clinic of Tam Duong district in the northern mountainous province of Lai Chau. (Source: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) – at
the grassroots level help save costs and ensure sustainability in healthcare,
contributing to the improvement of medical service quality, according to the
Ministry of Health.
However,
the ministry said healthcare at the grassroots level have showed weaknesses,
requiring changes to better serve people.
There are 11,162 clinics at commune, ward and
town levels nationwide. The Health Ministry said that the number of medical
services at has met only 52.2 percent of health check-up
and treatment demand. There is a shortage of basic medicines and drugs covered
by health insurance at this level.
The quality of medical equipment, infrastructure
and medical workers is not ensured. Patients have lost trust in medical quality
at the grassroots level due to a series of medical calamities and moved to
clinics or hospitals of higher level. This fact has led to overcrowd at
district-level or central level healthcare facilities.
Tuan said that the country is facing double
disease burden (from communicable and non-communicable diseases).
Efficiency of human resources remains low in the
context of limited financial source. The humble capacity of medical service
provision at the grassroots level has prevented health insurance holders to
enjoy their benefits and increase healthcare costs.
“There is an increasingly widened difference in
getting access to healthcare quality between regions,” he said.
In this context, improving and renewing
healthcare at the grassroots level are a sustainable solution because it is the
nearest system for people to get access to. The nationwide system of healthcare
network at the grassroots level and equal will ensure equity,
he said.
The resolution of the 6th Plenum of Communist
Party of Vietnam puts focus on improving disease preventive capacity combined
with healthcare facilities at the grassroots level.
By 2020, 95 percent of communal health centres,
wards or towns will undertake the task of preventive medicine, health
management and treatment of certain , the resolution
says.
The Health Ministry has launched essential
medical packages covered by health insurance, serving disease prevention and
improving healthcare. This has helped people get better access to quality
healthcare network at their residential areas.
The ministry also considers improving healthcare
quality at the grassroots level as a key to universal healthcare coverage. Healthcare
at home is an important solution to improve local medical quality. Medical
workers of district-level clinics or hospitals are sent to commune-level
healthcare facilities twice or three times a week and vice versa for
professional exchanges.-VNA
Source: VietnamPlus
