Many hospitals bought or borrowed medical equipment and supplies from suppliers and businesses to fight Covid-19, but have not yet been able to pay due to procedural problems.
"Creditors are waiting, debtors are waiting for instructions," said delegate Nguyen Huu Thong (Deputy Head of the National Assembly Delegation of Binh Thuan) at the parliament on the morning of November 20.
According to Mr. Thong, there are issues that voters are concerned about and have repeatedly made recommendations to, and have been noted by central ministries and agencies, but have not yet had satisfactory results for a long time. Hospitals in debt due to procedural problems after the pandemic are one example.
When Covid-19 broke out, the number of cases increased rapidly, making it difficult to purchase according to normal regulations. With the motto of "putting people's lives and health first", many hospitals borrowed medical equipment and supplies from suppliers or businesses and have not been able to pay due to procedural problems. In Binh Thuan, hospitals still owe businesses VND91 billion.
Although the National Assembly has passed a resolution assigning the Government to find a solution to this issue, localities have not yet received specific instructions. Therefore, he recommended that the authorities guide hospitals to make payments in cases of borrowing or lending equipment, medical supplies, chemicals, and biological products to serve the fight against the epidemic.
National Assembly deputies debate hospitals becoming debtors after the pandemic due to regulations, morning of October 20. Video: National Assembly Television
Associate Professor Nguyen Lan Hieu (Director of Hanoi Medical University Hospital) said that hospitals borrowing money to fight the epidemic but have not been able to repay it is a prominent issue in many provinces and cities that have had Covid-19 outbreaks. When fighting the epidemic, hospitals not only borrowed equipment and supplies, but some places also borrowed meals, laundry, oxygen, compressed air, etc.
"Delegate Thong asked the Government to provide guidance, but in my opinion, it is not enough, because the Government can only set out principles, but always include the sentence of implementing legal regulations. Thus, everything remains at a standstill," said Dr. Nguyen Lan Hieu.
He said that at the hospital where he works, there are cases that have been pending for too long and there is no way to pay because they are past the deadline, past the fiscal year, and there are no regulations. There are cases that have to be brought to court "and the hospital will definitely lose because it used other people's belongings". At that time, the hospital not only has to compensate the amount according to the value of the borrowed equipment but also has to pay interest.
Associate Professor Nguyen Lan Hieu debated at the National Assembly on the morning of November 20. Photo: National Assembly Media
The Director of Hanoi Medical University Hospital hopes that the Ministry of Health will soon issue guidelines to remove obstacles regarding specific items that hospitals have borrowed during the pandemic. Localities need to strongly support hospitals to completely resolve the remaining problems after Covid-19, so that the pandemic can truly end, helping the health sector feel secure in taking care of people's health.
Explaining this content, Minister of Health Dao Hong Lan said that current documents do not have regulations on the form of borrowing, borrowing first and paying later, borrowing and then bidding to pay back.
However, she admitted that Covid-19 is an unprecedented pandemic, and that it is urgent to ensure people's lives, so hospitals can make advances and borrow equipment and supplies. Although the National Assembly has assigned the Government to solve the problem, "this is very difficult."
Minister of Health Dao Hong Lan explained to the National Assembly on the morning of November 20. Photo: National Assembly Media
The Ministry of Health has so far counted 48 localities and 7 ministries and sectors with hospitals borrowing money to fight the epidemic, with a total amount of nearly 1,700 billion VND; of which 750 billion was borrowed for drugs and biological products; 940 billion was borrowed for test kits. On this basis, the Ministry of Health will classify the forms of borrowing to find a thorough solution.
"The spirit is that because there are no regulations in the laws, the Government will report to the National Assembly Standing Committee to have a mechanism to help hospitals overcome difficulties," said Minister Lan.
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