If the situation persists, Vietnam's public hospitals could face serious staff shortage in the future.
Many public hospitals in Dong Nai and Saigon are worried about the number of doctors leaving for private hospitals, Thanh Nien reports. Statistics from the Dong Nai Department of Health shows that while only 65 doctors quit public hospitals in 2016, the number increased to 98 in 2017 and 102 in 2018.
Since the start of 2019, six doctors have already quit and five other have turned in their resignation letters.
In Saigon, 23 medical employees including six doctors, six nurses and drivers from the 115 Emergency Center quit their job last year. The most common reasons cited for this change were inadequate pay, poor policies and management, and lack of opportunities for growth.
A survey done by Dong Nai General Hospital reveals that most doctors want VND20–25 million per month in salary. A doctor who recently left his job at a public hospital in Dong Nai for the private sector recently told VnExpress anonymously that despite having 10 years of experience, his monthly salary stays at VND15 million. Besides income, the working environment also plays an important role in these doctors' decisions.
"At my old hospital, the board of directors gave too much power to department managers without appropriate regulation. Besides discrepancy in salary, many doctors don't feel that they are given enough opportunities to grow and improve their skills so they opted for a different path," he told the news source.
Pham Van Dung, director of Thong Nhat Hospital in Dong Nai, shares that in order to combat this worrying trend, besides using freelance contracts, the health sector needs to apply changes in terms of policies and management as well.
[Photo/CC BY]
