Before the Q1 press conference took place on March 24, VietNamNet sent a questionnaire to MOH about the wave of job hopping from the public health to private health sector. MOH provided information about the reasons as well as solutions.

MOH said in the last five years, there have been more private healthcare units, creating job opportunities for medical workers, especially qualified ones. Working for private hospitals is the choice of many medical workers as they are paid well.

An MOH report showed that in 2021 and H1 2022, nearly 9,700 medical workers resigned, including 3,000 doctors and 2,900 nurses.

The ministry believes that some public health units operate ineffectively, so medical workers could not work as they expected.

“The movement of personnel from the public to the private sector has been occurring naturally and mostly in large cities. The boundary between the private and public sector has been worn away,” MOH commented.

The ministry said the competition in attracting talents between the two sectors is increasing. Hospitals with many experienced doctors working full time and hospitals with a good reputation can attract more patients. 

Staff have a strong attachment to hospitals because of the vision of leaders and managers; transparency about institutional and individual development, and a culture of empowerment.

“The private sector does this better than the public sector,” MOH said.

Regarding the reasons behind the problems of the public sector, MOH said medical workers bear pressure from work, from the recent scandals related to violations of the regulations on drugs and medical equipment procurement, and pressure from families, relatives and society. However, MOH emphasized mostly the unreasonable income.

After 7.5 years of study and practice, a young doctor at a public health unit earns a monthly income of less than VND5 million ($220). The net income is lower because he has to pay health insurance and social insurance premiums.

Meanwhile, private health units pay 3-4 times or 5-6 times higher.

However, MOH said that low income is one of the reasons, besides cumbersome apparatus, rigid management scheme, unclear staff assessment mechanism and others.

Vo Thu