To transfer to another hospital, people in the Central Highlands have to travel 400km, so they are "thirsty" for high-quality hospitals.

Serious illness must be transferred to hospital

Dak Lak currently has 31 agencies and units under the Department of Health . Of these, there are 2 administrative agencies, 5 provincial hospitals, 6 provincial centers, 15 district, town and city medical centers, 185 commune, ward and town medical stations, with nearly 6,700 medical staff.

Recently, Mr. and Mrs. N's family - a poor family in Dak Lak province - had a child with a serious illness (cancer). According to Ms. N, there is no local hospital that can provide medicine or radiation therapy for her child, so the family had to take him to a higher-level hospital in Ho Chi Minh City for treatment. "I hope that in the Central Highlands region, there will soon be a central-level hospital with full specialized departments and rooms that can treat many types of diseases so that we no longer have to transfer to other hospitals, wasting time and money," Ms. N expressed her wish.

According to Mr. Nguyen Dang Giap - Director of the Central Highlands General Hospital , the unit is still lacking equipment and supplies to treat certain diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, etc. Currently, complicated and specialized surgeries require transferring patients to Cho Ray Hospital (HCMC) for treatment.

In the near future, the hospital will propose that the Ministry of Health invest in a high-tech center to treat specialized diseases such as cancer, organ transplants, cardiovascular diseases, etc. The hospital is only a grade I unit, not yet able to reach the special level (central level). To handle complicated cases, good doctors and advanced equipment are needed to treat patients.

Prevent the drain of human resources

According to the Dak Lak Provincial Department of Health, the past 5 years have been the time when public hospitals in Dak Lak province have lost the most human resources. From 2021 to now, more than 150 health officials have resigned, including nearly 90 doctors. The majority of doctors who have resigned are those with postgraduate degrees, working at provincial hospitals and district health centers (medical facilities with beds and treatment systems). They work in different specialties such as internal medicine, surgery, obstetrics, pediatrics, diagnostic imaging, dentistry, ear, nose and throat, etc. The main reason is low salary and benefits.

Mr. Nguyen Dang Giap - Director of the Central Highlands General Hospital - admitted that after the COVID-19 pandemic, many doctors and nurses in the unit wrote resignation letters. There are many reasons for this situation. Among them, private hospitals solicited and invited personnel from public units with higher salaries... "I personally analyzed, encouraged their spirit and successfully convinced them to stay and continue working" - Mr. Giap shared.