Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh speaks at the meeting in Hanoi on June 23. (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) – Prime Minister
Pham Minh Chinh demanded the shortages of drugs and and the resignation
among be promptly settled while chairing a meeting of the
Government’s permanent members in Hanoi on June 23.
Explaining the drug and medical supply
shortages in some localities and central-level hospitals, the Ministry of
Health (MoH) pointed to the pandemic, whose serious impacts in 2020
and 2021 led to the scarcity of materials for production and surged prices and
subsequently made it more difficult to purchase medicine and medical supplies.
Notably, it noted, some localities and
establishments are afraid that they may commit wrongdoings or undergo examination
and inspection, so they didn’t dare to buy supplies.
In addition, resignation among health
workers in the public sector has increased, the MoH said, blaming that on low
salaries and allowances in the public health network, especially preventive medicine
and grassroots health facilities, as well as high pressure, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic broke out.
PM Chinh requested relevant
ministries and sectors to have a through grasp of the situation, analyse
causes, and coordinate closely with each other to deal with the situation in a
timely and effective manner.
He said the successful containment of
COVID-19 has helped recover and develop the economy and society fast and
sustainably. However, the pandemic remains complex in some countries while
other outbreaks like dengue fever, monkeypox, and hand-foot-mouth disease have
made the situation more complicated, the leader stressed.
Therefore, apart from increasing the
anti-COVID-19 capacity, it is also necessary to reserve drugs, medical
supplies, and manpower for coping with other outbreaks and providing healthcare
services for people, he said.
Stressing that caring for and
protecting people’s health is the first and foremost task, PM Chinh told the MoH to
work with relevant agencies to review mechanisms, policies, and regulations on
drug and medical supply procurement while actively dealing with obstacles.
He ordered ensuring transparency and
preventing negative phenomena, corruption, and group interests in the tendering
process; enhancing management in the health and pharmaceutical sector;
simplifying drug authorisation procedures; boosting power decentralisation in
drug and medical supply procurement; and increasing examination and
supervision.
Regarding the resignation, the Government
leader asked for overhauling regulations on the health sector’s apparatus and manpower,
perfecting the rules on public – private partnership in the area, and pressing on
with the practice of autonomy at public health establishments.
He also demanded relevant agencies re-assess the manpower imbalance among localities, medical facilities at
different levels, and specialised branches to work out solutions while making
plans to arrange sufficient personnel for medical examination and treatment in
a scientific, rational, and effective manner./.
Source: VietnamPlus
