Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Lien Huong said that in the report explaining and accepting the draft Resolution on a number of breakthrough mechanisms and policies in the work of protecting, caring for and improving people's health, the Ministry has added new regulations to ensure the safety of medical staff. Accordingly, those who assault or insult medical staff can be prosecuted for the crime of resisting a person performing official duties and forced to publicly apologize.
According to Deputy Minister Nguyen Thi Lien Huong, this draft Resolution adds Article 4 on ensuring safety for medical staff, to concretize the spirit of Resolution No. 20-NQ/TW on improving the working environment, reducing pressure and protecting the medical team.
Accordingly, people who violate the physical, health, and life or insult the honor and dignity of medical staff will be subject to two groups of measures:
Administrative or criminal handling according to the provisions of law on resisting a person performing official duties;
Forced to publicly apologize on the mass media, at the place of residence, workplace or at the medical facility where the incident occurred.
This proposal is expected to strongly deter acts of medical abuse, while restoring confidence and working spirit for the medical team - the frontline force in people's health care.
According to reports from hospitals, from the beginning of 2025 to now, there have been 6 cases of medical staff being attacked while caring for and treating patients. Many cases are serious and cause public outrage. Most notably was the case of a patient's family assaulting a nurse at the Neonatal Department, Nghe An Maternity and Pediatrics Hospital on October 23, 2025.
The Ministry of Health stated that the acts of assaulting medical staff not only directly threaten the lives and health of doctors, nurses and other patients, but also cause insecurity in the hospital, psychological damage and reduce the spirit of the medical team.
Prof. Dr. Tran Van Thuan - Deputy Minister of Health, Chairman of the National Medical Council - emphasized: Protecting medical staff must be a regular and systematic task. When a doctor is attacked, not only an individual is injured but people's trust in the health system is also seriously affected.
He said that the abuse of medical staff still occurs in many localities, causing psychological damage and affecting the quality of treatment. Many cases have not been strictly handled, causing the medical team to worry and feel insecure.
"We cannot stop at increasing security or installing cameras. The important thing is to have a strong enough legal corridor, a clear response process and a close coordination mechanism to protect medical practitioners" - Deputy Minister Tran Van Thuan emphasized.
The Department of Medical Examination and Treatment Management is proposing to amend Circular 32 guiding the implementation of Decree 96 on the implementation of the Law on Medical Examination and Treatment, expanding the scope of providing information on patient status to the Emergency Department to reduce frustration and limit conflicts. At the same time, the Department has developed a set of hospital security and safety standards, considering this a criterion for evaluating the quality of medical examination and treatment facilities.
The Ministry of Health also coordinated with the Ministry of Public Security to deploy a health - police inter-sectoral model at many hospitals, initially reducing serious cases. To ensure sustainability, the Ministry proposes to legalize this model, perfect the legal mechanism and sanctions for handling acts of abuse of medical staff. The Ministry has sent a document requesting the Ministry of Public Security to strengthen coordination to ensure security and order at medical facilities and will soon submit to the Government to amend and supplement the Law on Medical Examination and Treatment and Decree 96.
