Hospitals face more competition as city funding falls

Public health facilities in HCM City will be under pressure to improve their quality of services as they will no longer receive city funds for regular expenditures, excluding costs such as infrastructure projects.

Hospital fees yesterday officially rose by 30-50 per cent nationwide at all public hospitals, as scheduled by the Ministry of Health.

The city's hospitals will have to rely mostly on revenue from patients instead of the city's budget.

Tang Chi Thuong, deputy head of the city's Department of Health, said: "If quality and service attitudes stay the same, they won't be able to attract patients. This means they won't have revenue for their operations."

"The best way for a hospital to survive is to improve medical techniques and quality, obey state laws, and consider patients as ‘the centre of service'", he said.

At public hospitals with comprehensive financial autonomy, the fee will increase by 50 per cent starting from yesterday.

The hospitals include Bach Mai, Viet Duc, endocrinology, obstetrics, and eye hospitals in Ha Noi and Cho Ray, and several district hospitals in HCM City.

Nguyen Van Chau, Director of Xuyen A General Hospital in Cu Chi District, said: "For hospitals with low quality, this is a lot of pressure. They are forced to change because their existence depends on attracting patients."

"The quality of examination and treatment is the hospital's top priority. Accurate diagnoses and treatment help patients recover the fastest, leading to savings in total costs," he added.

Patients at his hospital would benefit from modern equipment and facilities, he said, adding that the hospital regularly adopted new advanced techniques in diagnosis and treatment.

Work on another high-tech treatment area to treat diseases related to heart and nerves was under construction at the hospital, and would be put into use early next year, he said.

Every day, the hospital collects opinions and comments from patients about its services.

Many hospitals such as Thu Duc District Hospital have applied IT to improve administrative processes, including keeping medical records on computers. The streamlining of services has also helped reduce waiting time.

With modern techniques, Thu Duc Hospital conducts complex surgeries that only several district hospitals in the city are capable of doing, including surgeries for spinal column and brain injuries, and cardiac intervention.

These achievements have helped the hospital attract more patients, according to the Health Department's medical affairs division.

The division's report found that after one month of implementing a regulation that allowed insured patients to choose any district hospital or private health facilities at the same locality, the number of insured patients to Thu Duc Hospital increased by nearly 6.6 per cent.

The regulation took effect on January 1.

Nguyen Truong Son, head of Cho Ray Hospital, said: "When all hospitals in the city, especially district-level, as well as provincial ones, improve the quality and service attitudes to ensure patient satisfaction and get trust from patients, central hospitals like Cho Ray Hospital can reduce patient overload."

The increase would also help hospitals to reinvest, he said, adding that this would help improve the working condition and lives of staff.

Each year, the hospital spends VND20 billion (US$888,888) to pay allowances for its staff.

In the last quarter of 2015, the hospital began programmes to improve its quality anticipating the increased fees.

The hospital is also setting up a new technical process, adjusting treatment protocol and standardising patient care.

In addition, its quality control division is reviewing administrative procedures to reduce the waiting time of patients.

This year, the hospital has been using less invasive surgical techniques, such as endoscopy robotic surgery.

At its molecular biology and genetics centre launched last week, new tests on genetic mutation for the treatment of cancer patients are being carried out.

"While many hospitals have increased fees, the Xuyen A Hospital did not change its fee on March 1," Chau said.

The hospital used loans from the preferential loan programme of the city People's Committee, and as a result, its management was improved, including financial services and a canteen, mini supermarket and cars to pick up patients.

The hospital does not collect payments for outpatients' examination and beds when they are hospitalised.

"The hospital operates on patients for 21 months only, but the number of outpatients has reached 1,200, and 800 inpatients each day," he added.

Of these, 70 per cent are insured patients.

Dr Diep Bao Tuan, deputy head of the city Oncology Hospital, told Voice of Viet Nam's online newspaper that the hospital's leaders would apply the new fees for newly hospitalised patients.

For patients staying at the hospital for treatment until March 15, they will pay the previous levels, Tuan added.

Vietnam and international partners to coordinate in combatting diseases

Viet Nam and international partners have pledged to co-ordinate in combating health risks posed by diseases that are transmitted from animals to humans.

The commitment was made yesterday at the inaugural meeting and signing ceremony of the One Health Partnership for Zoonoses (OHP).

OHP was built upon the achievements of the Viet Nam Partnership on Avian and Human Influenza that was originally established in 2006.

OHP was endorsed by twenty-seven Vietnamese and international agencies, including the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment, the United Nations, the US Embassy, the French Embassy, the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank.

Vu Van Tam, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, said at the workshop that the new partnership will organise an annual One Health Forum and offer opportunities for national and international partners to share results and lessons from their work.

It would provide recommendations on One Health policy, strategy and research projects in Viet Nam to enhance international co-operation for effective co-ordination and mobilisation of funds. The partnership would also facilitate and promote engagement of Viet Nam in regional and global One Health efforts, he said.

Nguyen Thanh Long, Deputy Health Minister, said the successful Partnership on Avian and Human Influenza (PAHI) has helped prevent the spread of emerging and dangerous animal-to-human diseases such as the H5N1 avian influenza.

The PAHI has expanded its existing co-operation to address disease risks like rabies, as well as MERS-corona virus and Ebola, he said.

Pratibha Mehta, United Nations Resident Coordinator, said the One Health Partnership was an example of how to bring together the strengths of various partners to focus on issues that has impacted millions of Vietnamese people.

"The signing of the partnership framework also demonstrates the commitment of the Government of Viet Nam and the partnership members to collaborate together to mitigate the risks and reduce the public health impacts caused by zoonotic diseases," she said.

At the workshop, US Ambassador to Viet Nam, Ted Osius, pledged that the US government would support inter-ministerial co-ordination and conduct technical work to increase Viet Nam's capacity to deal with serious emerging outbreak threats.

It is estimated that around 60 per cent of new human diseases are zoonotic, meaning they originated in animals. Of these, more than 70 per cent originate in wild animals, including Ebola, MERS-CoV, SARS and avian influenza. Viet Nam is one of the five countries identified as a "hotspot" for new emerging infectious diseases, including those with pandemic potential.

National Highway 91 shows signs of damage

Cracks have appeared on National Highway 91 following repairs for wear and tear early last year.

The 12-km road runs through Chau Doc City and Tinh Bien District in the northern province of An Giang.

The cracks are some 5-10cm wide and appear over a 4km section, raising concerns amongst drivers and locals in the area.

"The cracked road is a hazard for travellers. The thing I worry most about is the fact that the road has worn down to the rice field alongside it," Le Van Nhuoc, a local, said.

Many trucks use the road, and most of them are overloaded, he added.

In dealing with the problem, the construction company uses only sand, small stones and cement to temporarily fill in the cracks.

The road is past its term of optimal use, and the concerned authorities must work together to repair it over the next several days, Bui Duc Hoa, vice-general director of the project 7 management board, which is investing in the road, said.

The road was constructed with an investment of nearly VND1 trillion (US$45 million).    

Drawing contest reflects Vietnamese satires on gender equality

The Belgium Embassy, the UN Women, and the Vietnam Women’s Museum co-hosted a ceremony to award winners of a satirical drawing contest on gender equality in Hanoi on March 1.

Nguyen Vu Xuan Lan from Ho Chi Minh City won the first prize. The prize included a trip to Belgium to meet its Deputy Prime Minister, professional painters and popular local publishers.

The illustration of artist Nguyen Thanh Duy from Hanoi secured both the second place and the highest online vote.

Tran Thu Huong, a Hanoi’s resident, came in third.

Speaking at the ceremony, Belgian Ambassador to Vietnam Jehanne Roccas said the organising board was thrilled as more than half of the entries were from females.

The high quality of submissions makes it hard for the board to decide, and the drawings, even without descriptions, still evoked laughter, thoughts and tears, she added.

According to the diplomat, the competition reflected Vietnamese people’s interest in the issue of gender equality.

The contest, the first of its kind organised in Vietnam, opened for submissions from November 25, 2015 to January 18, 2016 with 116 illustrations submitted nationwide. The competing satires posted online received 10,000 votes from local audiences.

Forty outstanding artwork selected from the competition will be on display at the Vietnam Women’s Museum from March 1-10.

World Bank to facilitate traffic flow in Hanoi

The World Bank (WB) will continue assisting Hanoi in upgrading and building transport infrastructure, Country Director for Vietnam Victoria Kwakwa said during a meeting with the municipal authorities on March 1.

According to Kwakwa, the Hanoi urban transport development project, which loaned over 155 million USD from the WB, includes the construction of the Second Ring Road’s Cau Giay-Buoi-Nhat Tan segment and the development of a bus rapid transit system.

Taking into account the capital city’s efforts to speed up construction work, the WB decided to prolong the project’s disbursement deadline to the end of 2016.

Kwakwa noted the need to quicken land clearance to build bus stations and stops so that the express bus system can become operational in this June.

She added that the bank is assessing the efficiency of current infrastructure projects and selecting future ones.

Nguyen Duc Chung, Chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee, said with drastic implementation, the city expects to finish the Cau Giay-Buoi-Nhat Tan segment in upcoming May and soon complete the bus stops and related overpasses.

Hanoi plans to propose new transport projects for funding, with priority given to the building of the Kim Ma to Noi Bai airport segment and the west-eastern areas, Chung added.

Vietnamese, French parties bolster cooperation

Politburo member Dinh The Huynh, a standing member of the Party Central Committee’s Secretariat, received the coordinator of the standing committee of the French Communist Party Jean Charles Negre in Hanoi on March 1.

Huynh briefed his guest on the outcomes of Vietnam’s 12th National Party Congress as well as major orientations in the country’s reform, socio-economic development and integration process.

He said he believes that the traditional friendship and cooperation between the two parties would continue to be maintained.

Negre, in turn, affirmed that the French Communist Party will continue following the progresses of the Vietnamese side, considering Vietnam’s successes a motivation for its struggle cause.

He conveyed an invitation to the Communist Party of Vietnam to attend the 37th congress of the French Communist Party slated for June.

During the meeting, both sides also compared notes on issues related to cooperation between the two parties and the two nations.

Drug dealers arrested before entering Vietnam

The border guard and security forces in the Vietnamese provinces of Son La and Thanh Hoa and Laos’ Houaphan province caught a couple storing up to 23.5 kg of heroin in Houaphan on February 29.

With support from the local security command, the forces arrested Nang Nu Mua, born in 1980, in the morning along with 7 kg of heroin.

In late afternoon, her husband, 46-year-old Thao Chu Vang was also apprehended.

Searching the couple’s home, the forces found another 16.5 kg of heroin, 191 pills and materials for packing the heroin.

The two admitted they were about to pack the heroin, which could form about 78 bricks, and bring them into Vietnam.

The case is under further investigation.

On December 15, 2015, Son La police caught two people residing in Houaphan province for their illegal transport of 1,200 pills of synthetic drugs.    

Vietnamese official rebuked for promoting daughter against rules

A finance department chief in north-central Vietnam has been reprimanded for appointing her daughter to a senior position of a division under her management, which breached regulations.

She then had to withdraw her appointment decision following the reprimand.

Bui Van Su, chief of office at Thanh Hoa Province’s Department of Finance, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on Monday that departmental director Dinh Cam Van had nullified the appointment.

Van named her daughter, Le Cam Nhung, deputy head of her department’s Business Finance and Economic Development Policy Division on February 2.

Nhung had been working as a specialist at the IT Budget Management and Financial Statistics Division prior to the promotion, which immediately met with public objection.

Many deemed it “questionable,” as it went against previous directions from the chairman of the People’s Committee of Thanh Hoa.

On July 27, 2015, Chairman Nguyen Dinh Xung signed a fiat halting all new recruitments and promotions of deputies within the province. The document is still in effect now.

Special cases must be submitted for approval to the chairman before any appointment is made, according to the document.

The Business Finance and Economic Development Policy Division is suffering from a lack of personnel, according to chief of office Su.

Its head is retiring soon so there is a need to promote new officials for replacements, he added.

The promotion of Nhung seemed to conform to existing procedures, having undergone a confidence vote and internal review, Su said.

However, upon referring to documents issued by the provincial People’s Committee, the director decided to pass a new decision scrapping the promotion on February 5, as it lacked written approval from Chairman Xung.

Nhung would still be working as a specialist at the IT Budget Management and Financial Statistics Division, according to the new decision.

Director Van has admitted her fault and pledged to draw a lesson from that, while taking criticism from the chairman.

Central Highlands prioritises training rural labourers

The Central Highlands region’s vocational training sector aims to meet the labour market’s demand in both quality and quantity by 2020, contributing to raising productivity and income towards sustainable poverty reduction.

According to Deputy Minister of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs Doan Mau Diep, the region will provide vocational education for about 680,000 locals, with 10-12 percent of them to be trained at vocational schools and colleges.

It is expected that after vocational training, 80 percent of the rural labourers will have new jobs or maintain their existing jobs with higher income, he said.

Localities in the region will set up action plans on vocational training in the 2016-2020 period and include them in programmes on socio-economic development and new-style rural building, he added.

The rate of trained workers in the region is now 33.5 percent, up 7 percent compared to 2010.

In the 2010-2015 period, the Central Highlands provinces provided vocational training for 213,500 locals, half of them were ethnic minority people.

The region, comprising Dak Lak, Kon Tum, Dak Nong, Gia Lai, and Lam Dong provinces, has a total area of over 54,600 square kilometres and a population of about 5.5 million. Ethnic minorities account for 36 percent of the region’s population.

Over 15,000 Vietnamese work abroad in January-February

Up to 15,605 Vietnamese workers contracted to work abroad in the first two months of this year, according to the Department of Overseas Labour of the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs.

The January-February figure accounted for 15.61 percent of 2016’s plan and equaled to 90.69 percent of the same period in 2015.

Taiwan (China) remained the largest recipient of Vietnamese guest workers as it recruited 3,963 people, followed by Japan with 2,215 people.

The country targets to send 100,000 people to work abroad this year.

Up to 116,000 Vietnamese labourers contracted to work abroad in 2015.

Binh Duong on alert for forest fires

As many as 10,000 ha of forest in the southern province of Binh Duong are being under high risk of fire due to prolonged hot weather, according to the provincial Department of Forest Management.

Director of the department Tran Van Nguyen said his agency has organised ranger teams to inspect fire prevention at fire-prone areas. Local people have been required to not enter forests to avoid possible forest fires.

Two forest fires consecutively occurred in Phu Giao district in the last month, damaging 7.6 ha of acacia forest, the department said.

Prolonged high temperature along with decreased rainfall make forests in Cau Mountain and in Dau Tieng, Phu Giao and Tan Uyen districts under high risk of fire.

The department is working with relevant agencies to arrange forces to stand ready for any emergencies.

More aid delivered to fire-hit Vietnamese, Cambodians

The Overseas Vietnamese Association in Cambodia on March 1 presented relief aid to 96 Vietnamese and Cambodian households who bore the brunt of a recent fire.

The gifts, in kind and cash, were donated by enterprises, organisations and individuals, such as the Vietnam Embassy in Cambodia, Cambodian Red Cross, Chak Angre hospital and Anana company.

This is the second batch of gifts that the Association has given to the victims of the fire that broke in Phnom Penh’s Chak Angre Krom on the early morning of February 8.

Fourteen relief agencies have so far provided assistance for the victims.

Fund helps farmers improve lives

The Vietnam Farmers Union’s Supporting Fund for Farmers has made active and effective contributions to fostering farmers’ movements and improving their lives over the past 20 years.

Head of the fund’s management board Nguyen Xuan Thang made the remark at a ceremony in Hanoi on March 1 to mark the 20 th anniversary of the fund’s establishment (March 2, 1996-2016).

He said that from its initial capital of 40 billion VND (1.79 million USD) sourced from the Government, the fund can now provide 2 trillion VND (89.7 million USD) in preferential loans for rural farmers.

The fund has helped tens of thousands of farmers to develop their business, making significant contributions to the State and Government’s poverty reduction policy, Thang said, adding that cooperative model has bettered farming production which will gradually meet international integration requirements.

In the past few years, the fund has made fundamental changes in the way it provides loans for farmers. Instead of lending a household or a group of households, it now offers credits to farmers’ projects.

Since 2011, each household has been supported 30.5 million VND (1,367 USD) to develop their production.

Standing Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Farmers Union Lai Xuan Mon said that the fund needs to enhance dissemination of its role while paying attention to ensuring credit quality and efficient use of capital through fine-tuning its apparatus, increasing capacity for staff at all levels and pushing forward information and technology application.

The fund should guide farmers to do business projects, diversify capital resources and seek path to build efficient support models to bring benefits to rural farmers, he added.

Vietsovpetro works to ensure oil exploitation plan

The Vietnam-Russia Joint Venture Vietsovpetro will exploit an additional 23 oil wells and make upgrade to nine others as part of the efforts to ensure safe exploiting activities and fulfill its set plan.

The company will focus on completing seismic research to increase successful exploratory drilling activities in lot 09-1 to the northwest of Bach Ho (White Tiger) oil field in the coming time.

In addition, it will implement suitable scientific measures to enhance the oil recovery coefficient while promoting cost optimisation.

Vietsovpetro is striving to pump up over 24.4 million tonnes of crude oil by 2020. The company expects to bring ashore 5 million tonnes and exploit a further 100,000 tonnes in 2016.

Revenue from oil is forecast to stand at 11.6 billion USD by 2020. However, Vietsovpetro is asking for Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group’s support to assure sufficient funds for production, due to financial imbalances spurred by a steep fall in oil prices.

The northern mountainous province of Cao Bang, which has a more than 330km border with China and seven border gates, has taken measures to prevent the Zika virus from entering Vietnam.

Be Thi Ngoc Lan from the provincial Centre for Preventive Medicine said comprehensive plans have been implemented to prevent and control the spread of the virus across border areas.

Posters and banners have been placed at all border gates and they have strengthened supervision and monitoring of passengers, particularly high-risk ones.

The centre collected samples from suspected cases and conducted blood tests on those returning from Zika-hit areas. It sent the samples to the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology for further supervision.

The provincial Department of Health instructed health care facilities at all levels to take measures to constrain the growth of mosquitoes in a bid prevent the spread of Zika in the community.

Localities have been urged to keep residential areas clean and securely cover all containers of water to prevent mosquitoes from entering them and laying eggs.

District centres for health care have also been urged to prepare for early detection and treatment work, in terms of equipment, human resources and medicine.

Publicity campaigns have been widely conducted to raise public awareness about prevention of the disease.

The Zika virus is mainly transmitted through the Aedes Aegypti mosquito, which also carries dengue fever. The virus has been linked to microcephaly, a condition that causes babies to be born with unusually small heads and in the vast majority of cases, brain damage. Currently there is no vaccine or specific medicine to treat Zika.

It was first identified in Uganda in 1947 in rhesus monkeys, and confirmed in humans five years later in Uganda and Tanzania.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has recorded the highest number of Zika virus cases in the Americas and Africa.

According to the WHO, the Zika virus is spreading explosively. By February 25, the virus had circulated in 43 countries and territories, mostly in South America, the Caribbean and the Pacific Ocean.

Vietnam has seen no cases so far.

The Ministry of Health recently issued guidance on diagnosis and treatment. The ministry also set up a hotline for the virus: 0989671115.

World Water Day to be observed in Thanh Hoa

A national meeting to mark World Water Day will be held in Thanh Hoa city, the central province of same name, on March 22, said the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.

This year’s event themed “Water and Jobs” will also include a number of activities such as an exhibition, a scientific seminar, and an performance.

World Water Day is held annually on March 22 as a means of focusing attention to the importance of freshwater and advocating for sustainable management and of freshwater resources.

Each year, World Water Day highlights a specific aspect of freshwater, consolidating the valuable resource’s role in the sustainable development agenda.

Thua Thien-Hue: Tourist arrivals up 16 pct during Tet

About 92,000 holidaymakers visited central Thua Thien-Hue province during the 10-day Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday from February 5-14, up 16 percent from last Tet.

Foreigners accounted for 55.4 percent of the total, most of who were from the Republic of Korea (30 percent).

Overseas holidaymakers during Tet brought up the number of international arrivals to the locality in February to 100,000, up 32 percent from the previous month.

During the first two months of 2016, Thua Thien-Hue welcomed approximately 470,500 tourist arrivals, including more than 175,700 foreign visitors which represented a year-on-year increase of 6.24 percent.

It earned over 487 billion VND (21.8 million USD) from tourism, up 5.39 percent.

The number of foreign travellers to the province by ocean liners was also on the rise. The province’s Chan May Port has greeted six cruise ships, carrying nearly 9,500 passengers and crews, since the beginning of this year.

Notably, the five-star liner Celebrity Millennium with more than 3,000 tourists and crews on board docked Chan May on February 23, the second time it had anchored the port this year. From here, the foreign visitors will travel to popular beauty spots in Thua Thien-Hue and other central provinces.

This year, the province plans a wide range of activities to promote local tourism. Highlights include the Festival Hue 2016 from April 29 to May 4, the Hue international food festival from April 28 to May 2 alongside golden weeks of tourism throughout the year.

Country pays homage to former prime minister

Former Prime Minister Pham Van Dong devoted his life to the revolutionary cause of the nation, to building the Party and strengthening the state apparatus, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said yesterday at a ceremony in central province of Quang Ngai to mark the 110th birthday of the former leader and great culturist.

The ceremony was held in Mo Duc District of Quang Ngai where Dong was born. The event, which was broadcast live yesterday on VOV TV (a nationwide television channel operated by radio the Voice of Viet Nam), honoured the great contributions of the late Prime Minister to the country's revolutionary cause and development.

"Prime Minister Dong is a shining example from whom we should learn so as to continue his revolutionary cause and go firmly along the socialist path to the objectives chosen by the Party," Phuc said.

To celebrate the occasion, Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and other State and Party leaders planted trees at the Pham Van Dong Memorial complex. The Government Office, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other organisations and individuals also presented memorabilia owned by the late Prime Minister to the Quang Ngai authorities.

Pham Van Dong was born in 1906 in Duc Tan Village in Mo Duc District of Quang Ngai.

He began his revolutionary activities in the students' patriotic movement when he was 18.

Two years later, in 1926, he participated in a training course held by Nguyen Ai Quoc – later President Ho Chi Minh – in Guangzhou, southern China, and was admitted to the Viet Nam Revolutionary Youth Association.

He returned to Sai Gon, now HCM City, after attending the youth association's congress in Hong Kong and soon after was arrested by the French for his revolutionary activities and sent to the Con Dao prison island for 10 years.

Freed in 1936, Dong travelled to Ha Noi and in 1940 was admitted to the Communist Party of Indochina.

He held the highest distinction awarded by both the Party and the State, the Order of the Gold Star.

The former leader's talent for and contribution to foreign affairs manifested themselves during the many stages of Viet Nam's revolution. He made an important contribution to international solidarity, asking for support and sympathy from friendly countries to aid Viet Nam's national liberation cause, as well as the protection and development of the country.

International friends respected and admired Dong, considering him one of the national heroes who had the greatest impact in Viet Nam during the 20th century.

The former leader had also been a great educator and culturist. He always used his knowledge of the national culture as well as humanism in revolutionary activities.

Dong died in May 2000 and was prime minister from 1955 to 1987. At the time of his death at age 94, he had devoted 75 years of his life to patriotism and the revolution.

VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/TT/TN/Dantri