Medical workers from the central-southern province of Binh Dinh express their determination as they head to HCM City to support COVID-19 prevention and control.(Photo: VNA) Nearly 9,400 medical workers all over the country resigned theirjobs recently, according to statistics of the Ministry of Health (MoH).
In only December last year, 4,864 medical workers in State medicalfacilities across the country quit their jobs, including 1,504 doctors.
At central-level hospitals, 420 medical workers left their jobs,168 of them doctors.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, medical workers had to work at ahigh intensity, often day and night, and many even contracted the virus. Buttheir salaries were low, not enough for their daily expenses.
Dong Tam Ward Medical Station in Hai Ba Trung district of Hanoihas 10 medical workers, including one doctor, but had to take care of 2,000COVID-19 patients.
During the biggest outbreak in Hanoi, all 10 members of stafftested positive but they could not rest and still worked normally.
Despite fever and coughing, they still answered phone calls togive guidance to other patients, transfer serious patients to upper-level hospitals,and did other administrative work.
Doctor Nguyen Minh Hue, head of the station, said with such hardwork, monthly salary of a station member was 3-5 million VND (128-213 USD). Hueherself, with nearly 30 years of doing the job, receives 10 million VND (427 USD)per month.
The Dong Tam Medical Station so far luckily to maintain itsworkforce, no one left their job, but Hue said, their lives were verydifficult.
She said: “We do it because we love the job, it is our passion,here we love and share the work together like a family. Without the love, itwill be difficult to retain our medical staff.
“If they leave, it will be very difficult for the grassrootshealth care sector, which has suffered from staff shortages like now.”
What worries Hue is that now many doctors and medical staff quittheir jobs to work in private hospitals, which will pay them three timeshigher.
She added: “During the pandemic, we shared difficulties with thenation. I have done the work for a long time, I love my job and I still stay.
“But as for young medical staff, with a too low salary, findingother work with higher salary is inevitable. Hanoi authorities said that in thefuture, it will pay more attention to medical staff and we hope this willhappen."
Nguyen Cong Huu, Director of E Hospital, said that recently, manyyoung doctors and nurses asked to leave.
He said: “A doctor often needs nine years for studyingprofessional knowledge. But when starting working at hospital, their initialsalary is very low, and during the COVID-19 pandemic, their salary is notenough for themselves, not to mention their families. They often apply for workat private hospitals with higher income.”
A report by the Hanoi People's Committee said that from last yearto April 30 this year, as many as 857 people working in the health sector quittheir jobs. The reason is said that medical staff must perform many tasks, haveto work overtime, but their income is very low compared with non-public medicalfacilities.
In HCM City, in the first three months this year, nearly 400medical workers left their jobs. The southern province of Dong Nai the firstsix months this year saw 230 medical workers quit. The same situation happenedin the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai with 23 people resigning.
Pham Van Dung, Director of Thong Nhat Hospital in Dong Nai province,said that the work pressure was so great and income not equal to their efforts.
Solutions
Deputy Minister of Health Do Xuan Tuyen told the press that in thepast, the MoH offered many solutions, of which for grassroots health care, itwas drafting a circular to increase the number of medical workers working atcommunal and district health stations.
The number will be based on population density in the localitiesto ensure sufficient medical staff to serve professional tasks and pandemicprevention and control.
The MoH will improve capacity of grassroots health care byactively implementing a project of bringing young doctors to work indisadvantaged areas, which is often called Project 585.
The project aims at bringing qualified doctors to take care ofpeople in remote areas, border areas, islands and areas with extremelydifficult socio-economic conditions. Priority is given to 62 poor districts. Itaims to provide quality medical services at the grassroots level, contributingto ensuring fairness and efficiency in people's health care and protection.
At a recent Government meeting with ministries on solutions toensure drugs, medical supplies and medical personnel, Prime Minister Pham MinhChinh noted the MoH coordinate with other ministries to research and proposeamendments to the Decree 56/2011/NĐ-CP stipulating preferential allowances foremployees working at public health facilities. The decree will continue toimplement support policies for medical staff and workers affected by theCOVID-19 pandemic.
Tuyen said that the MoH proposed the Government adjust the Decree56/2011/ND-CP issued on July 4, 2011 stipulating preferential allowances forpublic employees, in which allowances for health workers in state healthfacilities are expected to raise.
Associate professor Nguyen Huy Nga, former director of theDepartment of Preventive Medicine under the MoH, said that to develop publichealth, it was necessary to have a decent salary.
In the pandemic, remuneration for pandemic prevention and controlmust be paid quickly.
A study conducted by the Vietnam Young Physicians’ Association of2,700 health workers across the country revealed that more than one third ofthem said that their salaries, bonuses and allowances had been reduced.
As many as 62% of health workers surveyed have not received anyallowance. More than 80% cannot pay or can only pay a part of living expensesfor themselves and their families./.
VNA
