"Paradox" of medical staff's on-call allowance

Faced with that reality, many opinions and recommendations have been made to increase on-duty allowances for medical staff, especially at commune health stations, to ensure income and living standards.

Proposal to increase salary for medical staff

After the 7th Session of the 15th National Assembly, voters of Lang Son, Ha Giang and Tuyen Quang provinces proposed that the Ministry of Health advise the Government to amend regulations on a number of special allowances for civil servants, public employees and workers in public health facilities and the anti-epidemic allowance regime in the direction of increasing on-duty allowances and meal allowances for commune health station staff.

Doctor of Phu Dien Ward Health Station, Bac Tu Liem District examines a child. Photo: Thanh Binh

Reflecting on this issue, voters in Ha Giang province pointed out that the current on-duty allowance is low, does not ensure a living standard, and directly affects the quality of performing tasks. Specifically, the on-duty allowance for commune health station staff is currently 18,750 VND/night, 32,500 VND on weekends, and 15,000 VND/night for meals. Therefore, voters proposed to increase the on-duty allowance and meal allowance for medical staff, especially at commune health stations, from 18,000 VND to 100,000 VND/night; on weekends to 150,000 VND/night; on holidays to increase from 45,000 VND to 200,000 VND/night; and on weekends and holidays to increase from 15,000 VND to 150,000 VND/day to ensure income.

In addition, allowances for medical staff in general are currently low, and voters have proposed to increase them. Over the past 12 years, the basic salary has been adjusted 8 times, but the allowances for surgery, procedures, and on-duty fees have not been adjusted accordingly. Many medical staff have almost no days off, work at high intensity for long periods of time, while salaries and allowances only partially cover their living needs, not commensurate with the nature of their work and training.

As an officer with 34 years of experience in the profession, Deputy Head of the Di Trach Commune Health Station, Hoai Duc District, Nguyen Dinh Hung, shared that although the work at the grassroots health station is hard and the income is low, for many years, 9 medical officers and staff have remained to take care of people's health. "On duty at the health station at night are doctors, nurses and midwives. Currently, there are no specific regulations on the age of stopping duty. In places lacking human resources, old doctors and doctors with underlying diseases still have to participate in duty, which is very difficult and affects their health. Therefore, for us, any proposal to increase allowances, no matter how small, is very valuable" - Mr. Hung expressed.

According to statistics from the Ministry of Health, from the beginning of 2021 to mid-2022, nearly 10,000 medical staff nationwide quit their jobs, most of which were in Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Dong Nai, Binh Duong, An Giang, and Da Nang. The reasons given by the Ministry of Health were work pressure, low income, pressure from lack of conditions and facilities to perform professional tasks, pressure from society, family, relatives, and the desire to find a better working environment.

Hope the proposal is passed soon

Regarding this issue, Minister of Health Dao Hong Lan said that the Ministry is urgently completing the draft Decree on new occupational allowances and the Decision amending and supplementing the regulations on a number of special allowance regimes for civil servants, public employees, and workers in public health facilities and the anti-epidemic allowance regime. The draft will be sent to ministries, branches, and localities for comments to complete the dossier to be submitted to the Ministry of Justice for appraisal, expected to be submitted to the Government in November 2024. According to the latest proposal of the Ministry of Health, the allowance for workers participating in 24-hour shifts at grade I and special hospitals will increase by VND210,000; the main surgeon of a special surgery will receive an allowance of VND790,000, 2.8 times higher than the current allowance.

At the Annual Conference of the Hospital Directors Club of Northern Provinces, Minister of Health Dao Hong Lan stated that the 24-hour on-call allowance for doctors and nurses is very low and inappropriate while the training and study time is longer than other professions. Also according to the Ministry of Health, the current allowance levels: on-call, surgery, procedure, epidemic prevention and meal allowance for subjects are applied in Decision No. 73/2011/QD-TTg dated December 28, 2011 of the Prime Minister with a base salary of VND 830,000. After 13 years, the base salary increased to VND 2,340,000 (an increase of 182%). Thus, the allowance level according to Decision 73 is assessed by the Ministry of Health as "too low and no longer suitable" with the current economic and living situation.

 

Compared to other professions, the overtime pay in the medical industry is very low, a medical staff member receives 115,000 VND for one night of duty. Meanwhile, a doctor studies for 6 years after graduation and then studies for 18 more months to get a practice certificate. Some people even study for ten years.

Doctor Pham Thu Tra , Chairwoman of Bach Mai Hospital Trade Union

According to the latest regulations, to be granted a practicing certificate, a doctor must spend up to 6 years studying at a medical university and at least 12 months practicing. Meanwhile, for a whole day and night of hard work, a doctor at a class I or special hospital (such as Viet Duc Friendship Hospital, Bach Mai Hospital, Thai Nguyen Central Hospital, Hue Central Hospital, Cho Ray Hospital...) only receives 115,000 VND. A 12-hour night shift of a doctor at a class III hospital (usually at the district level) only receives more than 30,000 VND, not enough to buy a bowl of pho at current prices.

According to representatives of some hospital leaders, the on-call allowance and surgery allowance regime implemented more than 10 years ago is no longer suitable. For example, a special surgery that usually lasts from 4 to 6 hours, even over 8-10 hours such as heart surgery, organ transplant... still only receives an allowance of 280,000 VND/case for the main surgeon.

Regarding this issue, Chairman of the Vietnam Health Trade Union Pham Thanh Binh said that for many years, the Health Trade Union has proposed increasing allowances for medical staff and requested competent authorities to soon implement this proposal. The Vietnam Health Trade Union hopes that increasing allowances will significantly improve the lives of medical staff. This is a recognition and encouragement for them to continue contributing to the work of taking care of people's health, especially in the context that their work increasingly requires sacrifice and dedication.

The consensus and expectation from both medical staff and the trade union shows the urgency of this proposal to increase allowances. With the increasing standard of living and increasing work pressure, medical staff hope that the proposal will be considered and approved by the authorities as soon as possible, helping to improve the lives of those who are dedicated to the cause of public health care.

 

Compared to the current cost of living, the special allowances for medical staff in public health facilities are quite low. If the proposal to increase the allowances is approved, the lives of medical staff will be significantly improved and we hope this will soon become a reality. However, the Government should use and ensure spending from the State budget if the proposal to increase the allowances for medical staff is approved.

Deputy Director of Bac Tu Liem District Medical Center Dang Thi Lan Phuong

Source: https://kinhtedothi.vn/nghich-ly-phu-cap-truc-cua-nhan-vien-y-te.html