Patients have faced many difficulties in the past year due to a shortage of medicine and medical supplies - Photo: HA QUAN
Meanwhile, on February 27, the Government signed and issued Decree 24, which is said to have many new points that can "unblock the blood clot" in medical procurement. However, hospitals still complain that procurement is difficult, leading to a shortage of supplies and medicines, and patients have to move back and forth between many places, which is extremely difficult.
"Enough legal basis"
At the conference of hospital directors in the Northern region held today, March 16, Mr. Hoang Cuong, head of the policy department, Bidding Management Department, Ministry of Planning and Investment, said that since January 2024, when the new Bidding Law comes into effect, there have been over 10,000 bidding packages in various industries issuing bidding documents according to the new law, including procurement for healthcare.
"The new Bidding Law and Decree 24 have many new points, making bidding for drugs and medical supplies more convenient, and can designate contractors in case of epidemics, or even in some situations to ensure regular operations of hospitals. Besides, there are also some new forms of procurement such as transparent online bidding on the national bidding network, hospitals can buy damaged components in 3-4 days" - Mr. Cuong said.
Mr. Cuong said that Decree 24 also "relieved" many hospitals, it is possible to determine the price of the bidding package based on the quotation, even in the case of having only one quotation, that quotation will be used as the estimated price for the bidding package, or if there are many quotations, the estimated price can be taken from the highest bid package. This is a very notable new point compared to previous regulations.
"Hospitals can also apply the option to purchase up to 30% more of the previous procurement package. The new regulation also empowers investors to identify previous difficulties and obstacles to overcome them," said Mr. Cuong.
Answering the question "Why are many hospitals still unable to purchase and still lack medical supplies?", Mr. Cuong said that it is the responsibility of the investors, and according to him, current regulations are sufficient legal basis.
Mr. Dao Xuan Co, director of Bach Mai Hospital, head of the Northern Regional Hospital Directors Club (in the middle of the photo) presents gifts to the poor patient fund, witnessed by Minister of Health Dao Hong Lan - Photo: BVCC
The hospital is still calling, why?
2.5 months after the Law on Bidding took effect, more than half a month after Decree 24, but many hospitals "whispered" that they had difficulties. Mr. Nguyen Van Thuong, director of Duc Giang General Hospital, Hanoi, said that the bidding package for equipment for orthopedic trauma surgery, which many places are lacking, was only opened for bidding at his hospital in October 2023, so it is still available.
However, Mr. Thuong is concerned about the classification of goods, it is necessary to be more specific about which goods are bid by the central government, which are local goods, which are hospital goods...
A representative of another hospital shared concerns that the regulation is in place but can be interpreted in many ways. If the supply department and hospital leaders decide to choose a good, expensive machine instead of a cheap, more common machine, there will be legal concerns.
"We removed it by holding a meeting of the professional council, with clear grounds and minutes about the reasons for choosing the equipment before selecting the configuration and inviting bids," he said.
The leader of a general hospital in Hung Yen shared that there is a shortage of supplies for artificial knee and hip replacement surgery because "no suppliers are participating because the prices are too low."
This is also the result of the situation where some places say they have enough regulations, while others say it is still difficult to implement, and many hospitals still lack equipment, medical supplies, and medicines for medical examination and treatment.
For nearly 2 years, hospitals have been struggling, have the authorities listened to the concerns and complaints from hospitals? They have listened and there have been many amendments to regulations, even "favors" for healthcare, because they also understand that this is a special field, cannot be regulated like normal procurement.
But it is time for hospitals, departments, and the Ministry of Health to resolutely implement existing and new regulations, and not let patients wait too long or be transferred from one hospital to another due to lack of supplies or medicine. We cannot keep complaining, but it is time to act because patients cannot endure any more hardship and suffering.
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