Review and rectify medical examination and treatment activities after the K Hospital was accused of corruption
According to the Ministry of Health's admission, recently there have been a number of isolated incidents that have caused negative public opinion and affected the image and reputation of the health sector.
In the Directive on strengthening management and improving the quality of medical examination and treatment services at medical examination and treatment facilities recently issued by the Ministry of Health, this agency acknowledged that in the context of the health sector facing many difficulties and challenges, especially the increase in the number of people coming for medical examination and treatment after the pandemic, concentrated in central and end-line hospitals, leading to overload, affecting service quality and easily giving rise to negativity; recently, there have been a number of isolated incidents that have caused negative public opinion, affecting the image and reputation of the health sector.
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| Director of K Hospital during a meeting with leaders of the Ministry of Health on August 23. |
To overcome the shortcomings and continue to strengthen management and improve the quality of medical examination and treatment services, the satisfaction of patients and their families, and better serve the medical examination and treatment of the people, the Minister of Health requested medical facilities to continue to thoroughly grasp the Code of Conduct, enhance the responsibility of performing public duties, and professional regulations of medical staff; strengthen training in communication, behavioral, and professional skills; implement the motto "Taking the patient as the center", with the spirit of listening and being receptive in caring for and treating patients.
Review and rectify medical examination and treatment activities and practitioners at medical examination and treatment facilities according to the provisions of the Law on Medical Examination and Treatment. The Ministry of Health requires medical facilities to periodically inspect and monitor compliance with hospital quality management procedures; implementation of internal hospital procedures and regulations; and remind and handle individuals and units that do not comply.
Identify hospital quality management as the foundation: Proactively review, develop plans and inspect the organization and implementation of quality management of medical examination and treatment services; implement Decision No. 56/QD-BYT dated January 8, 2024 of the Ministry of Health promulgating guidelines on methods for measuring people's satisfaction with public health services in the period 2024-2030 and other guidelines and regulations of the Ministry of Health to improve and enhance quality in order to provide safe, high-quality and effective medical services, bringing satisfaction to patients, people and medical staff.
Strictly publicize hospital hotline numbers, the Ministry of Health's hotline numbers, prices of medical examination and treatment services and other necessary information that must be made public according to regulations; post them in places where patients and their families can easily see and access them to promptly receive feedback and ensure the legitimate rights of patients.
Promote the application of information technology and digital transformation in the implementation of medical examination and treatment procedures; cashless payment. At the same time, review and minimize administrative procedures that cause inconvenience to patients.
Proactively grasp, provide and process information to promptly resolve difficulties, problems and incidents arising in the performance of tasks. Promote information and communication of achievements; individuals and groups with outstanding and typical achievements in the implementation of medical examination and treatment. Strengthen communication on social networks; focus on internal communication to promote the spirit of solidarity and creativity.
Coordinate with local law enforcement agencies to implement solutions to ensure the safety of medical staff while performing their duties; promptly and strictly handle violations or intentional dissemination of false information that affects the trust of patients and people in public health care.
Continue to proactively implement procurement and bidding according to regulations; ensure adequate medicine and medical equipment for medical examination and health care for the people. Research, propose and implement solutions to improve the material and spiritual life of medical staff, especially regarding remuneration and have appropriate forms of emulation and rewards to promptly motivate and encourage medical staff.
It is known that public opinion is currently in an uproar over the incident where people denounced the attitude and awareness of medical staff at K Hospital. Accordingly, in mid-August 2024, TikTok account Dau Thanh Tam posted clips reflecting many problems at K Hospital. Among them was the content "accusing" that patients had to "bribe" 200,000 VND for each radiation treatment.
On August 22, social networks continued to appear many clips denouncing that radiation therapy requires money to be given here, otherwise, patients will be made difficult. Specifically, a clip of a woman named D.TH (in Mai Son, Son La) wearing a patient shirt with the name of K Hospital printed on it said "I clipped money into the paper and gave it to her and a moment later the doctor called me to go for a check-up". She said that the amount of money she clipped into the paper to give to the medical staff was 500,000 VND, then she received back only the paper.
In another clip, account holder TL (in Pho Yen, Thai Nguyen) also told about how he took care of his father for quite a long time at Tan Trieu K Hospital. According to TL, the hospital's appointment for his father was at 6:00 a.m., the family prepared all the documents and arrived at 5:30 a.m., but when they were called in, the technician made things difficult. When he went outside to ask, people told him that people who come in for radiotherapy here have to pay 100,000 - 200,000 VND to get radiotherapy.
After the accusations were made, at the meeting with the Ministry of Health on August 23, instead of completely denying the situation as in the previous press release, Prof. Dr. Le Van Quang, Director of K Hospital, openly said that if the hospital receives any feedback from patients about the inappropriate attitude of medical staff, they will suspend work for 1-2 weeks to verify and clarify. If the medical staff is found to be negative, disciplinary action will be taken.
Due to the large number of patients and limited facilities, doctors have had to divide shifts/teams to take care of patients. Therefore, the hospital director hopes that patients will comply with the regulations and avoid "cutting in line" to avoid negative consequences such as disorder, safety, and security in the hospital grounds to ensure the best conditions for the medical team to examine and treat patients.
In the coming time, in order to meet the needs of medical examination and treatment, the hospital plans to purchase 4 more radiotherapy machines. The hospital also promotes the reinforcement of lower-level facilities to reduce the burden on the hospital and avoid negative incidents. The Director of K Hospital also affirmed that, in the spirit of openness, the hospital will strictly handle violations in medical examination and treatment activities (if any) and publicly, transparently, and notify the mass media.
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