Vietnam Health Workers Get New Set of Rules

A new set of rules for health officials and workers nationwide came into effect at the beginning of this month to improve medical ethics and methods to better serve patients by clarifying the anti-corruption law and the civil servants ordinance.

This was said by Deputy Director of the Health Ministry's Personnel Organisation Department Doan Huu Du at a conference for health workers held in Hanoi on Thursday.

Du also said health workers were sometimes impatient with patients as they work long hours, and the new rules aimed to remind staff to treat patients well and keep a healthy outlook.

The rules are expected to be applied at health units that have direct contact with patients, and the Ministry of Home Affairs will draft a different set of rules for administrative staff.

The Health Ministry has asked the Legal Department, trade unions and the Inspectorate Department to supervise the implementation of new regulations.

Director of the Ministry's Treatment Department Ly Ngoc Kinh said If patients or their family members notice health workers with a bad attitude, they can report to hotlines or hospitals.

The new rules also aim to stamp out other behaviour deemed unsuitable for a State healthcare workers, and prohibit them from abusing their positions, establishing private business and founding or managing private hospitals, private enterprises or companies specialising in medical and pharmaceutical products, private medical schools and universities.

However, the regulations do allow doctors to open private clinics.

Some participants at the conference noted that it was unreasonable to allow doctors to open private clinics, while health workers were banned from starting similar enterprises, but most agreed that the opening of private hospitals had adversely affected standards at public health-care insitutions.

Kinh said the ministry had encouraged health workers to work overtime at private clinics and units to reduce the strain on the public health system because the public health system was seriously overloaded.

The private healthcare system lacks doctors too closely there will be a shortage of staff at private hospitals or many doctors will leave the public sector, said Kinh.

In Hanoi there are more than 1,280 doctors working in public hospitals, and many have asked leave to open private clinics, as incomes are higher in the private system.

Participants at the conference also said banning doctors from working in the private system was not the answer, and said that to keep doctors in the public health care system the ministry should raise salaries and allow doctors to work part time for private clinics. - VNA