Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan has urged the Ministry of Health to intensify the management of private health establishments, including solutions for the loose issuance of licences.

The ministry is also asked to work with the Ministry of Information and Communications and Hanoi authorities to discuss ways to manage and implement regulations stipulated in the Law on Advertisements and decrees guiding advertisements on health services on television, websites and brochures.

While taking its responsibility for the management of private health establishments, the ministry should soon promulgate regulations requiring public hospitals to increase the management over their doctors working for the private sector as extra work, Deputy Prime Minister Nhan said.

He made the requests at a meeting in Hanoi on October 28 on the implementation of a plan on intensifying the state management over private health establishments with an aim of improving their operation quality.

He praised the Hanoi People’s Committee for issuing regulations that commune and ward authorities must take responsibility over the management of health and pharmaceutical establishments in the localities.

The committee should work with and help grassroots relevant agencies in inspecting and supervising the operation of those establishments, he said.

There are 157 private hospitals nationwide, including six with foreign investment, and over 30,000 private clinics and health services providers, according to the Ministry of Health’s statistics.

In Hanoi, there are 2,218 private health check-up and treatment establishments and 4,938 others supplying pharmaceutical services.

In the first nine months of this year, the ministry set up teams to inspect the State management of private health establishments in Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Hai Phong and Binh Phuoc province.

The ministry also inspected two private plastic surgery hospitals in Ho Chi Minh, while the Hanoi Health Department conducted checks of 27 out of the 34 licensed ones.

The private health establishments and pharmacies are encouraged to develop in line with the Party and State’s policy on promoting social involvement in the health sector, contributing to the care of the people’s health and easing the burden on public health centres.-VNA