Dong Nai Portal

·        Reasons of patient overload.

Many opinions at the seminar approve the enhancement of health socialization

          Doctor Chuong said that strong development of industrial zones in Dong Nai province lures the flood of labor forces from other places and this has put much pressure on the health sector when material facilities in hospitals have not been deeply invested. Doctor Huynh Minh Hoang stated that “Most small-scale hospitals are being downgraded and these hospitals are upgraded slowly meanwhile the target of patient beds need to be increased”. Reportedly, only two hospitals of Children and Tuberculosis among 17 hospitals of Dong Nai province have infrastructures meeting the required standards. Nearly 100 old medical stations are being downgraded and others have to be upgraded and newly-builded; and 86 medical stations do have not enough modern health facilities. The investment funds of health sector in the period of 2006-2010 are over VND2,000 billion, but the health sector is expected to reach 30% of the plan by the end-2008.

Additionally, the limitation on the quantity and quality of health staff is also one of the main reasons of patient overload in hospitals. Many patients often seek treatment in larger hospitals because they offer higher quality services and facilities. Moreover, patients with high incomes prefer to come to large hospitals for their checkup and treatment.

Patients feel exhausted waiting for their turns

·        What are solutions?

          At the seminar held by Dong Nai Newspaper and DN Health Department on February 24, representatives of provincial leaders, leaders of public health and doctors from procince-level hospitals to grassroots level ones dicussed together to point out short-term and long-term solutions to patient overload in hospitals. Many feasible measures were pointed out but there are many concerns.

          Doctor Phan Huy Anh Vu – Director of Dong Nai General Hospital said “We now lack doctors in hospitals, so we need to boosting training for health staff. In the short time, we need to carry out such measures as: extending the time examining patients, arranging extra patient beds, and reducing the time patients need to spend for their treatment”. In reality, Dong Nai Health Department had taken measures to reduce the overload at hospitals, including adding patient beds, increasing the target for patient beds every year, attracting health staff, building Departments of Polyclinic, enhancing health socialization, and encouraging to develop non-public hospitals. At the same time, the Department has improved the capacity of health workers at grassroots level hospitals. Doctor Nguyen Van Nhat from Long Binh private health clinic pointed out another measure to attract health workers with more preferential policies. he said “the salary of doctors in Dong Nai province is just a half of that of doctors in Binh Duong province and Ho Chi Minh City”. As for training health staff, Doctor Truong Thi Thu Hang added “Dong Nai province now focuses on training and attracting human resources for the health sector; particularly, medical students will be invested if they agree to work for hospitals in Dong Nai province at least 5 years after graduation”.           

        However, enhancing health socialization is a solution that gains the approval from many participants of the seminar. Director of Long Khanh General Hospital Su Son stated “In fact, we understand that the local citizents will trust the hospitals when modern facilities are invested. Even doctors and medical workers also get more confident with their professional skills. Moreover, the patient overload is not only the problem of health public but also that of the whole society”. Accordingly, the health sector for the time being mobilized nearly VND100 billion from the socialization. This amount of money is used to build, upgrade and improve some wards of hospitals, and to equip more health facilities. Doctor Tu Thanh Chuong emphasized that “Easing the patient overload needs to be carried out synchronously in line with enhancing health socialization; investing in infrastructure construction; investing in training and attracting human resources; boosting health care programs among the community, especially developing private hospitals. However, the issue can not be solved overnight and the implementation of measures has to follows the procedures. Therefore, the patient overload in hospitals still continues to happen in the coming time”.

Reported by Lien Huong, Translated by Minh Minh