Medical workers in Điện Biên Province provide free examinations and medicine to the people in Sín Thầu Commune. — VNA/VNS Photo Xuan Tu

During a meeting of the National Assembly (NA) on Friday, the draft amendment for the Law on Medical Examination and Treatment was discussed. Minister of Health Đào Hồng Lan emphasised the importance of approving the amendment during this NA session, stating that it is crucial for the healthcare sector.

Discussing the regulations related to the National Medical Council in the draft, Quảng Bình Province’s NA deputy Nguyễn Minh Tâm suggested that standards and criteria for selecting the council’s members should be included in the law, which will ensure qualification and capacity evaluation. 

Regarding the cases where medical practitioners are allowed to perform without licence, Tâm recommended that the law drafting board make adjustments according to cases; one on humanitarian medical examination and treatment and the other on technology transfer and expertise support. 

Hoàng Văn Cường, an NA deputy from Hà Nội, said that conditions for a medical facility’s autonomy should be detailed in the amendment, which concerns decision-making as well as finances, structure and staffing.

Nam Định Province’s deputy Khương Thị Mai said she agreed with the progressive changes in the draft document and added that the medical service pricing needs to take into account all the elements. 

She said that this would help medical facilities ensure income for doctors and medical staff. 

Mai also added that it is necessary to stipulate that practitioners' licence is only valid for five years from the date of issuance for quality control, addressing the case where people who no longer practice the profession still have their names on the system. 

Following the discussion, the NA Standing Committee will continue working with the government, the drafting board and the supervision agency to adjust the document, ensuring its quality and feasibility before presenting it to the NA for approval during this meeting session. 

It will be a basis for building other regulations related to disease prevention, health insurance, or medical transplantation.

National master plan

In a group meeting session with HCM City deputies on the 2021-30 National Master Plan with a vision to 2050, President Nguyễn Xuân Phúc highlighted training for high-quality human resources among the decisive factors for the plan’s success. 

He said: “Without good human resources, it is impossible to realise the plan. Many countries around the world have had experience in this matter and Việt Nam also needs to raise this issue. 

“We have to radically and effectively transform human resources to realise growth plans and strategies.”

The president also noted that Việt Nam is one of the countries most impacted by climate change, therefore, planning along the main routes, urban and densely-populated areas must take into account the well-being of the people, sustainable development and minimising damage from national disaster.

He said that it is necessary to choose the higher growth option among the two scenarios presented in the draft, with the reason that only rapid growth will expand the scale of the economy and achieve the goal of becoming a high-income country by 2045, which will strengthen the country’s position in the international integration process. 

Nguyễn Thanh Phương, a Cần Thơ City deputy, added that focal zones should be identified for growth resources priority. 

She said: “It is necessary to truly focus on several crucial points, while the others can move forward at a slower pace and later progress faster. It would be more effective than stretching the resources as of current.”

Meanwhile, Bắc Giang’s Province deputy Trần Văn Tuấn stressed determining the development direction for national infrastructure, especially for transport. 

He said Việt Nam had focused more on transport, especially road infrastructure, with visible changes. However, maritime and railway transport have not been able to respond to development needs. 

Tuấn believed that if the country takes the initiative to transport infrastructure better, logistics costs will be reduced by a great margin. 

Huỳnh Thị Phúc, an NA deputy from Bà Rịa - Vũng Tàu Province, said that the national master plan would need to put more focus on sustainable development so that the people can benefit from high-quality social services and social welfare systems, ensuring harmony between economic, socio-cultural growth and environmental protection. — VNS