In order to have an operation, Vietnamese patients have to spend money and go out to buy medical supplies, from bandages to needles because the hospitals have to wait for a bidding. It’s hard to believe, but in Vietnam today, it’s common.
This is not a new story. Since June 17, 2022, Vietnam’s Ministry of Health has warned about the situation that many local hospitals are lacking medical supplies and medicines, mainly regular medicines and falls under local procurement authority. That has had a significant impact on medical examination and treatment for people.
The reason given by the Ministry of Health at that time was that bidding and procurement for epidemic prevention and control still revealed some difficulties, problems and inadequacies.
Immediately afterwards, at the meeting of the Standing Government with localities, on June 23, 2022, to discuss solutions to supply drugs, supplies… for the health sector, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said that because many officials are “afraid of committing wrongdoings and do not dare to take responsibility.”
That story seems to be an old story, after more than a year, perhaps the situation will improve for the better. But in reality, this is happening more commonly and more seriously in many hospitals across the country.
Tuoi Tre newspaper on October 25 reported on this issue, with a title that couldn’t be more tragic “Binh Phuoc: Patients have to go out to buy bandages, needles… because the hospital has to wait for bidbing.”
According to Tuoi Tre newspaper, on October 25, the management of Binh Phuoc Provincial General Hospital confirmed that the hospital had a shortage of drugs and medical supplies, and patients had to buy them outside.
According to the hospital’s leaders, after the incidents stemming from the COVID-19 epidemic, along with the constant changes in legal documents on bidding, leading to confusion in the implementation process. Some parts also have psychological concerns, fear of mistakes, fear of inspection, so they do not dare to do anything, do not dare to bid or buy. In addition, some businesses and suppliers are afraid, due to unreasonable prices and complicated and difficult procedures.
Tuoi Tre newspaper also added, “… previously, many people who came for examination and treatment at Binh Phuoc Provincial General Hospital were frustrated because even though they had health insurance, they still had to go to an outside pharmacy to buy from bandages to needles.
The case of patient Bui Ngoc Thanh Phuong (residing in Bu Dang district) was scheduled for surgery due to a broken collarbone. Despite having health insurance, the doctor listed a series of consumable supplies such as surgical gauze, pumps, needles, threads, scalpels, tape, surgical caps, splint sets, etc. with a total amount of more than VND12 million dong.”
This problem also puts the burden of medical costs on patients, as they have to spend their own money to buy medical supplies, as requested by their doctors. But in the health insurance contract, there is no provision for payment of out-of-hospital expenses. Not to mention whether the quality of drugs purchased from outside is guaranteed or not.
The problem of corruption in Vietnam’s healthcare industry today is extremely serious, with many cases such as importing fake drugs, inflating equipment prices, and misusing health insurance funds…
In particular, during the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been blatant manipulation and corruption, regardless of people’s lives, by senior health officials. A series of health officials from the central to local levels have been prosecuted and arrested for violations related to bidding, procurement of medical supplies, medicine… Especially during the COVID epidemic in 2020 and 2021, shows that.
A doctor in Thu Duc spoke to Thoibao.de on condition of anonymity and said the reason and underlying cause:
“That’s because medical staff did bad things in the past, but now they’re being blown away, so they don’t dare to do it anymore. When they can no longer raise prices to make a profit, they ignore it, then use the excuse of fear of responsibility and discipline.”
We would like to remind you that the Viet A case has shocked the Vietnamese health sector. It was an unprecedented “hookup” case. Viet A Company has inflated the price of COVID-19 test kits many times over, and paid huge commissions to individuals and units who purchased this item from this company during the pandemic.
About 70 officials from the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Science and Technology and leaders of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC)… along with a series of leaders of hospitals across the country, have been prosecuted and arrested due to their involvement in the Viet A case. Among them are two members of the Party Central Committee, former Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long and former Minister of Science and Technology and former Chairman of Hanoi Chu Ngoc Anh.
Thoibao.de (Translated)
