Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (Source: VNA)Hanoi
(VNA) – The development of grass-roots medical work and provision of health
services to all people are a focal assignment of the in 2017,
stated Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.
The PM made the
statement when attending the Health Ministry’s conference to set out tasks for
2017 in Hanoi on January 12.
He lauded the
sector’s outcomes last year, including preventive healthcare that let no
outbreak of diseases take place.
The sector has
worked to ease overcrowded conditions at major hospitals as well as improve
medical facilities and human resources capacity, he added.
He highlighted 61
percent of population was covered with health insurance in Vietnam last year, saying
it surpassed the goal set for 2020.
He pointed to
progress made in health financing mechanism and food safety, the completion of
the mechanism for drug auctions, as well as the punishment facing 6,000 medical
staff with wrongdoing.
Phuc also talked
about the sector’s shortcomings, including cramped hospitals as a pressing
issue and medical accidents due to negligence and poor competence of medical
workers.
According to the
Prime Minister, hospital management remains weak, with monopoly spotted in in
many associated services, such as the provision of taxis, food and beverage.
Meanwhile, red tape has caused trouble for patients, and the building of many
centrally run hospitals has fallen behind schedule.
He pointed to
vested interest and lack of transparency in purchasing medical equipment and
managing the medicine market, citing an example of a clinic in Ca Mau that
reported a loss of more than 100 billion VND (4.4 million USD).
He recommended
that measures to reduce medicine prices is necessary.
As a task for
2017, Phuc urged the sector to simplify its administrative procedures and
hospitals to make public their performances and service quality.
The sector has to
focus on the implementation of its project to improve quality of medical tests
and accelerate the construction of centrally run hospitals, he stressed.
He said the Health
Ministry ought to facilitate the establishment of non-public medical facilities
and pilot operating public-private units.
The expansion of
health insurance coverage in line with improved service quality is also a must,
he added.-VNA
Source: VietnamPlus
