Public hospitals struggle to keep good doctors
"The salary is too low, how can I make ends meet without quitting my job?We have to go out to work and make a living.Not only worrying about yourself, but also your family and children.With that salary, it cannot cover living expenses" - Dr. Minh Ha (name changed), currently working at a famous private hospital in Hanoi, shared.
After nearly a decade of working at a district general hospital in Hanoi, three years ago, Mr. Ha decided to quit his job to find a place with a better income, enough to pay off debts and take care of his family.
The family opposed his resignation, because "People want to ask to go in but can't, but I ask to go out myself?". But when the salary was only about 8 million VND/month, the insurance was calculated at 3.9 million VND, he could not continue to struggle. At a private hospital, my income increased 5 times, even though I worked away from home. "Work is hard like that, but income completely changes your life," said Dr. Ha.
According to the Ministry of Health's report on the number of medical staff who quit their jobs from January 1, 2021 to June 30, 2022 nationwide, there are 9,680 medical staff who have applied for resignation (including 3,094 doctors, 2,874 nurses, 551 medical technicians, 276 families, 593 pharmacists, 2,280 other civil servants). This can be said to be the time of a "crisis" in medical human resources.
From February 2020 to March 2021, Bach Mai Hospital recorded 221 medical staff and employees quitting or transferring jobs. Notably, 28 doctors, including 1 associate professor and 7 doctors, have transferred to other medical facilities with higher incomes.
Ms. Doan Thu Tra - Chairman of the Bach Mai Hospital Trade Union - recalled: Some people only earn 5 million VND/month, many nurses have to sell online to make ends meet. Doctors and nurses work from 5-6 am, on duty at night with a salary of only 115,000 VND, facing the pressure of patient care and the risk of violence from family members. Many people worked 24/7 and the next morning continued to go to direct the route.
At that time, the Ministry of Health pointed out 4 main reasons for the wave of health workers leaving public hospitals: High work pressure, high intensity work, no days off; low income, salaries and allowances not enough to meet living needs, while the private sector pays many times higher; lack of facilities; social and family pressure.
In Ho Chi Minh City, according to Dr. Hoang Thi Diem Tuyet - Director of Hung Vuong Hospital, Hung Vuong Hospital is a specialized hospital for Obstetrics and Gynecology, Grade I, but the income of doctors and medical staff is not commensurate with their efforts. Therefore, there is a shift of doctors and medical staff from the public system to the private system.
This is a difficult problem for hospitals, because when the training unit has enough qualified doctors and medical staff, there are many cases of switching to the private system. At this time, the hospital had to retrain a new group.
Doctor Tran Van Phuc (Xanh Pon General Hospital) said that public hospital doctors work 8-10 hours/day, on duty 24 hours a day on weekends and holidays, but there is no compensatory leave or overtime. The on-call fee is only 115,000 VND, the income is mainly the basic salary. Deteriorated infrastructure, limited rooms, and outdated equipment cause many difficulties in diagnosis and treatment.
Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Lan Hieu - Director of Hanoi Medical University Hospital - said that medical staff leaving the hospital are not necessarily "gray blood", because they still serve in the health system, but the disruption too quickly will seriously affect people who do not have access to private health care. "It is not difficult to understand why many doctors leave public hospitals. Decreased income, poor working conditions, and pressure from the cumbersome administrative system force them to make choices. Those who stay are mainly in two groups: Enthusiastic doctors with favorable specialties and stable incomes; or young doctors with insufficient experience and qualifications to find opportunities in the private system", Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Lan Hieu commented.
Prioritizing the recruitment of high-quality human resources
According to Associate Professor, Dr. Dao Xuan Co - Director of Bach Mai Hospital, even during the same period when many medical staff quit their jobs, Bach Mai Hospital recruited 506 new personnel, including 5 professors/assistant professors, 4 doctors and 98 resident doctors, to ensure the quality of medical examination and treatment and maintain stable operations of the hospital. Despite financial difficulties, the leaders of Bach Mai Hospital still prioritize recruiting highly qualified human resources, such as boarding doctors and advanced bachelor's degrees, to meet the increasing demand for medical examination and treatment of the people.
These efforts aim to fulfill Bach Mai Hospital's commitment to maintaining and improving the quality of medical services, while creating a professional working environment to attract and retain leading medical experts.
As Director of Bach Mai Hospital, Associate Professor, Dr. Dao Xuan Co said that he has implemented many activities to improve professional quality and attract talent. For example, the hospital has organized professional seminars, attracting the participation of hundreds of doctors and nurses, to update new knowledge and techniques in medicine.
