On September 18, the Dak Lak Provincial Department of Health held a press conference to inform about the incident in which nearly 500 patients underwent kidney stone surgery while their machines were broken at the Central Highlands General Hospital.
Here, Ms. Le Ka Thuy - Deputy Director of the Central Highlands General Hospital said: "The violation at the Department of Surgery - Nephrology, Department of Surgery - Anesthesia and Resuscitation is spontaneous due to the individuals involved not complying with regulations and not reporting in time".
According to Ms. Thuy, the information reported by the press about the incident is accurate. Immediately after discovering the incident, the hospital disciplined the individuals and groups involved. The unit did not cover up the violations that occurred. At the same time, closely coordinate with the provincial Social Insurance agency to overcome costs and not profit.
According to the report of the Central Highlands General Hospital, when the stone canopy was broken, the hospital sent equipment for repair. Then, to ensure medical examination and treatment, the unit borrowed kidney stone gomes from another place for treatment. During the process of borrowing the machine, the hospital did not incur additional treatment costs for the patient.
Mr. Nay Phi La - Director of the Dak Lak Provincial Department of Health affirmed: "In the past, the Department of Health has proactively inspected regularly at the Central Highlands General Hospital. Thereby, the unit discovered nearly 500 cases of kidney stone surgery that had not been performed according to the procedures of the Ministry of Health.
According to Mr. Phi La, the staff at the hospital's professional department have prepared incorrect and incorrect reports. This is the fault of individuals, not the system. The Department of Health has requested the hospital to strictly implement the medical examination and treatment process according to the issued regulations.
"We have coordinated with the police to handle this case. Thereby, clarifying the profiteering behavior of individuals and groups (if any). In this case, the Department was completely proactive, but our weakness was not reporting to the Provincial People's Committee as soon as the incident occurred. However, the Department has not published information related to this incident," Mr. Phi La added.
As Lao Dong reported, the Central Highlands General Hospital only has one stone laser machine and this device has been determined to be broken since November 2023.
However, the unusual thing is that since then, the unit has recorded nearly 500 patients having kidney stones.
Mr. Nay Phi La - Director of the Dak Lak Provincial Department of Health said: "This is a very serious incident".
Regarding the incident, 2 officials at the Central Highlands General Hospital have been suspended from work.
Accordingly, in early August 2025, the Director of the Central Highlands General Hospital signed a decision to temporarily suspend the position of leader, manager, and surgeon for Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Hoang - Head of the Department of Nephrology - Urology.
Mr. Hoang has shown signs of violations in the management and use of laser stone cutting machines.
At the same time, the Director of the Hospital also signed a decision to temporarily suspend the position of leader, manager, and surgeon for Mr. Le Xuan Vinh - Deputy Head of the Department of Nephrology - Urology.
Mr. Vinh has shown signs of violations in the management and use of laser stone cutting machines.
Currently, both of them have expired their suspension period and are working at the hospital.
