National Assembly deputies attend the morning session on May 29.
On the morning of May 29, the National Assembly held a plenary session in the hall to discuss the results of monitoring the mobilization, management and use of resources for Covid-19 prevention and control; and the implementation of policies and laws on grassroots health care and preventive medicine.
In addition to the achieved results, the report of the National Assembly's Supervisory Delegation also mentioned the shortcomings and limitations, pointed out the causes and responsibilities, and gave some recommendations and solutions to overcome difficulties and problems in the coming time.
Investment in primary health care and preventive medicine is still inadequate.
Chairwoman of the Social Committee and Deputy Head of the Monitoring Delegation Nguyen Thuy Anh said that the management, use, payment, and settlement of epidemic prevention and control funds from the state budget during and after the peak period of epidemic prevention and control were still delayed, with many difficulties and problems arising but not resolved promptly and thoroughly.
After controlling the epidemic, the dissolution, handover, asset management, payment, and settlement related to field hospitals, mobile medical stations, and Covid-19 treatment facilities have not been done well.
The management and coordination of social resources are sometimes limited, confusing in organization and implementation, and low in efficiency. Although some provinces and cities have response plans, local resources cannot immediately respond, and resources for epidemic prevention and control are not guaranteed, especially during the period of rapid and complicated outbreaks and prolonged social distancing.
Notably, there have been serious violations in mobilizing, managing and using resources for epidemic prevention and control, especially in research, acceptance, transfer, circulation licensing, price negotiation, production organization, purchase and sale of Covid-19 test kits related to Viet A Technology Joint Stock Company and the organization of flights to bring Vietnamese citizens from abroad back to the country for quarantine at civil facilities, voluntarily paying fees during the Covid-19 epidemic; many central and local officials have been criminally prosecuted.
Chairwoman of the National Assembly's Social Committee Nguyen Thuy Anh represented the Supervisory Delegation to report at the meeting.
Regarding preventive medicine and primary health care, the report also pointed out that although primary health care and preventive medicine have been strengthened, they are still lacking in quantity and limited in qualifications and professional capacity. Many localities reported a shortage of primary health care workers, including major cities such as Hanoi, Da Nang, and Ho Chi Minh City.
Policies and regimes for grassroots medical staff and preventive medicine are still low and unsatisfactory, but are slowly adjusted, and are not enough to attract and retain staff for long-term commitment to grassroots medical staff and preventive medicine.
The number of medical staff quitting, leaving their jobs or changing jobs has increased in some localities, especially after the peak period of Covid-19 prevention and control.
The report cited data showing that the number of doctors at commune health stations tends to decrease. In the 4 years from 2018-2021, the total number of commune doctors decreased by 2,238 people, with the year 2020 having the largest decrease in the number of commune doctors (a decrease of 1,114 people compared to 2019).
The monitoring delegation assessed that investment in primary health care and preventive health care is still inadequate and not commensurate with the viewpoint that "preventive health care is the key, primary health care is the foundation", the financial mechanism for primary health care activities is slow to innovate, not meeting the requirements of functions, tasks and people's health care needs.
In some localities, the proportion of expenditure on preventive medicine has not reached 30% of the total state budget expenditure on preventive medicine. “While the proportion of medical examination and treatment covered by health insurance at grassroots health facilities is about 75%, the proportion of medical examination and treatment covered by health insurance at grassroots health facilities will reach 34.5% in 2022, of which at commune health facilities it will only reach 1.7%,” said Nguyen Thuy Anh, Chairwoman of the Social Affairs Committee.
Urgently handle all cases related to Viet A Company
Based on the monitoring results, the Monitoring Delegation recommended that the National Assembly issue a Monitoring Resolution, proposing to amend, supplement or promulgate new laws related to the fields of primary health care, preventive medicine, civil defense and emergency situations.
Abolish, amend, supplement or issue new documents guiding the implementation of the law on the procurement of drugs, equipment, medical supplies, biological products and chemicals to ensure consistency with the Law on Bidding and the Law on Prices.
At the same time, urgently review, synthesize, and classify to handle backlogs and problems in the management and use of resources for Covid-19 prevention and control in the following tasks: purchasing drugs, supplies, chemicals, biological products, equipment and other goods in quantities higher than actual needs for reserve; establishing public ownership of assets sponsored, donated, and presented for Covid-19 prevention and control; dissolving and handling assets when dissolving mobile medical stations, Covid-19 admission and treatment facilities, and field hospitals.
Scene of the morning meeting on May 29.
In addition, it is necessary to strengthen the capacity to provide primary health care and preventive health services in the direction of: promoting the implementation of the goal of universal health coverage; innovating the financial mechanism and payment mechanism of the health insurance fund towards increasing expenditure for primary health care; innovating policies and methods of training and fostering primary health care and preventive health workers, especially human resources working at commune health stations...
In particular, research to ensure adequate salaries, allowances, and benefits for medical staff in general, and primary health care and preventive health staff in particular, commensurate with job requirements and specific job characteristics.
There is a roadmap to increase health insurance premiums, while expanding the list of medical examination and treatment services, the list of medicines and medical supplies at grassroots health facilities covered by the Health Insurance Fund; thoroughly resolving difficulties in payment and settlement of health insurance medical examination and treatment costs.
In addition, the Supervisory Delegation recommended that the National Assembly include in the Resolution the assignment of the Government to report to the National Assembly at the 7th Session of the 15th National Assembly on tasks related to the mobilization, management and use of resources for the prevention and control of the Covid-19 pandemic and to report to the National Assembly every two years on the results of the implementation of the contents on grassroots health care and preventive medicine prescribed in this Resolution.
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