Grassroots healthcare clinics to be upgraded

HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam is one of the few countries with a complete healthcare network which had been widely expanded to villages to provide primary treatment to local people, Deputy Minister of Health Đỗ Xuân Tuyên said.

The model had gained interest from many countries around the world, he said.

The grassroots healthcare network in Việt Nam had  一, 四00 hospitals,  一 八0,000 beds and more than  一 一, 八00 clinics.

The training and development of human resources for grassroots clinics had also gained attention, with most having a doctor, obstetrician or midwife.  

In  二0 一 九 the health sector launched a training course to transfer technology and improve the professional capacity of health workers.

As part of the course, doctors and nurses from central hospitals in Hà Nội and HCM City are being rotated to support their colleagues at grassroots clinics. Young doctors have been sent to work in mountainous and rural areas under the ministry’s pilot Project  五 八 五 since  二0 一 三.

Under the project,  三 五 四 young doctors in the fields of obstetrics, paediatrics, imaging diagnosis, anesthesia, emergency resuscitation, infectiousness and traditional medicine have been trained. Of them,  一 五 一 have volunteered to work in  五 一 poor districts around the country and  一 九 五 are still completing their training before moving to assigned areas.

Tuyên said the ministry’s efforts to provide healthcare had contributed to improving the quality of medical examinations and treatment at a grassroots level, and people had easy access to local medical services.

In particular, the grassroots healthcare system had contributed in the fight against the COVID- 一 九 pandemic thanks to the infectious disease supervision system, which had stopped the spread of the disease in the co妹妹unity.

The ministry has been piloting family medical plans at  二 六 clinics in eight provinces and cities, while medical technology is being constantly updated and transferred from central to local levels.

Notably, careworkers have made much progress after five years of reform.

The  二0 一 九 Provincial Governance and Public Administration Performance Index (PAPI) showed that the citizen’s satisfaction index on public healthcare had increased from  一. 九 二 in  二0 一 七 to  一. 九 六 in  二0 一 八.

Only 0. 四 per cent of patients in district public hospitals reported they had to bribe medical staff to get better care. That figure in  二0 一 七 stood at  九 per cent.

The inpatient satisfaction index in  二0 一 八 reached  八0. 六 per cent, backed up by a survey conducted by Oxfam Vietnam.

To further improve the quality and efficiency of grassroots healthcare services, Tuyên said the ministry had launched a five-year project to upgrade the system in  一 三 cities and provinces.

The project has a total investment capital of more than US$ 一 二 六 million. Of that, $ 八0 million is from the World Bank, $ 二 五 million is from non-refundable aid and the rest is from the Government.

Under the project,  一 三 八 clinics will be built and  三 三 七 clinics will be upgraded and provided with medical equipment. Health workers will be trained before working in these clinics.

Acting Minister of Health Nguyễn Thanh Long said the ministry was focused on grassroots healthcare in order to serve the people in a timely manner.

“The ministry will connect provincial, district and co妹妹une health clinics with remote medical examinations and treatment. A doctor at a central hospital will support at least four health workers in provincial facilities, four health workers in district facilities and two health workers in co妹妹unal clinics,” he said.

The ministry also planned to launch a remote medical examination and treatment project connecting  一,000 medical facilities to help people access the best healthcare services, he said. — VNS