Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Thi Lien Huong - Deputy Minister of Health has just chaired an online meeting with 34 provincial and municipal health departments nationwide to develop and complete a draft Circular guiding the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of commune, ward and special-zone health stations (collectively referred to as commune health stations) under provinces and centrally run cities.
According to Deputy Minister Nguyen Thi Lien Huong, there is currently no document to abolish the Regional Health Center, but only the Central Government's direction is that the District Health Center will become a regional Health Center, under the Department of Health.
"After exchanging with some localities, it shows that regional health centers are very important, especially some localities that have merged many provinces and areas to travel far. In some localities, Commune Health Stations are very far from central units such as CDCs, if there is no Regional Health Center to coordinate in case of an epidemic, public health events will be very difficult.
Therefore, we need to focus on stabilizing Commune Health Stations according to the direction of the Central Government. After a period of operation, when the Commune and Ward Health Stations are stable and have performed their basic functions, then we will propose a further direction" - Deputy Minister said.
Information at the meeting showed that, based on the Conclusions of the Politburo and the Resolution of the National Assembly on reorganizing and streamlining the apparatus of the political system; reorganizing administrative units at all levels and building a model of organizing local government at both levels, the Ministry of Health determined that the development, promulgation and implementation of documents guiding the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of Commune, Ward and Special Zone Health Stations under provinces and centrally run cities is very important, meeting the requirements of current political tasks.
The leaders of the Ministry of Health assigned the focal unit, the Department of Organization and Personnel, to draft a Circular guiding the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of health stations of communes, wards and special zones under provinces and centrally run cities on the basis of reviewing and replacing Circular No. 33/2015/TT-BYT dated October 27, 2015 of the Ministry of Health to ensure compliance with current legal regulations on decentralization and delegation of authority.
On June 15, 2025, the Ministry of Health sent an official dispatch to units under the Ministry and provinces and cities to collect opinions on the draft Circular and received 56 opinions with 37 specific comments for the focal unit to continue to complete.
At the online meeting with 34 provinces and centrally run cities, there were 14 opinions, mostly from the Departments of Health of provinces and cities.
