On the afternoon of June 17, continuing the program of the 9th Session, many National Assembly deputies discussed in the hall, clarifying the overload situation at specialized hospitals.
Delegate Do Thi Lan - Member of the National Assembly of Quang Ninh province - said that when she arrived at K Hospital (Hanoi), she witnessed a long line of patients waiting for examination, many cancer patients were tired of waiting for radiotherapy.
Many of them are in difficult circumstances due to the long treatment time and high costs.
According to Ms. Lan, K Hospital receives more than 2,000 visits every day, while this facility still lacks many necessary medical equipment such as ultrasound machines and CT scans.
In particular, the lack of radiotherapists has caused many patients to not receive timely intervention, losing the opportunity for effective treatment in the "golden hour".
The delegate said that the above shortcomings stem from many causes. Partly due to the increasing demand for investment in healthcare, human resources and equipment, the price of healthcare services has not been calculated correctly and fully according to regulations.
In addition, public medical examination and treatment facilities have not been able to balance their revenue and expenditure. If you pay the full salary to doctors and nurses, there will not be enough resources for other regular expenses.
At the same time, the equipment procurement bidding mechanism and investment socialization policies in public hospitals still have many problems, leading to difficulties in supplementing and upgrading equipment.
From the above reality, the delegate suggested that the Government soon give instructions and comprehensively assess the overload situation at specialized hospitals.
"K Hospital alone needs to carefully consider the situation of receiving, examining and treating cancer patients every year," said delegate Lan.
At the same time, the delegate said that it is necessary to clearly identify the shortcomings, causes and propose solutions to overcome them. This includes increasing investment in grassroots health care, supporting human resource training, supplementing equipment, and ensuring income to retain the medical team in the public sector.
Delegate Nguyen Quang Huan - Member of the National Assembly of Binh Duong province said that not only K Hospital but many large hospitals such as Bach Mai, Viet Duc, 108... are also overloaded.
Delegate Huan said that the reason for the lack of medical equipment and facilities and poor hospital conditions due to service fees is only part of the reason for overload.
According to the delegate, after the COVID-19 pandemic, there were violations related to the bidding mechanism, some hospitals during the inspection and examination process were not allowed to use sealed medical equipment.
Even equipment sponsored by private enterprises is not allowed to be put into operation due to regulations.
I have a friend in the industry who said that even though the equipment is sponsored, it cannot be used because it violates bidding regulations. Limited investment has been made and is not used, causing the hospital's capacity to decrease further," said delegate Huan.
From the above practice, delegate Huan suggested that there should be a preferential and flexible mechanism so that equipment during the inspection, examination or service of the case can still be exploited appropriately.
At the same time, there needs to be a mechanism to encourage, motivate and retain good doctors at large hospitals that are under pressure.
