Full text of Delegate Nguyen Lan Hieu’s speech at the socio-economic discussion session

Dear Parliament,

This morning, our COVID Hoang Mai Hospital has only 10 patients left. This is the facility responsible for treating severe and critical COVID patients in Hanoi and the northern provinces, sometimes up to more than 300 patients. Other facilities in Hanoi and other provinces currently have a very small number of patients, and our mortality rate from COVID is almost nonexistent these days. In the SEA Games final, we also saw 40,000 people go and no one wore masks, even in this hall, not many people wore masks.

I think the delegates are of the same opinion as me now that COVID has entered a phase of decline. However, we still have not officially declared the end of group A infectious diseases. As a rule, group A infectious diseases are examined and treated free of charge, when COVID turns into a group B infectious state, payment is made. , payment for medical examination and treatment will be the same as for other diseases that can be covered by health insurance or people pay for services. When we consider COVID as a specialty, it doesn’t mean we downplay the danger of this disease, but we closely monitor and respond flexibly.

There are three indicators to monitor, which are exploratory tests for early detection of new strains; the second is to record the sudden spread of the disease in the community and the third is to calculate the situation of seriously ill patients requiring hospitalization. If these indicators arise, the state management agency will change the anti-epidemic status, which means we do not sit and wait for the development of COVID but respond flexibly.

It is time to return to the old normal to work towards two goals, the first is to serve the roadmap for economic recovery in the post-COVID period. The second is to avoid overloading the health system, hospitals are able to treat common diseases and COVID diseases. If anything is different from before the outbreak, we need to advise people to wear masks in public, wash their hands often. Those infected with COVID should stay at home, if there are signs of transfer, they should go to the hospital for treatment. Mild cases and no symptoms should still limit contact to avoid the risk of infection in high-risk groups such as the elderly, infants, pregnant women. Isolation of sick people is definitely not as extreme as before, anyone who tests negative quickly can return to normal work.

Dear Parliament.

The epidemic has affected many areas that the Government’s report has shown, but in my opinion the industry that has been affected the most, with the most severe consequences, is the health sector. The medical system has experienced unforgettable moments. The successes have been recognized by society in many forms, so I would like to not repeat them here. Mistakes had to be paid according to public principles, the crime of discrimination.

The question is how after the big storm, the recovery and better development of a pillar industry in social security will take place. It is not possible because of the violations that happen that we bring the whole system to a halt. Previous difficulties such as medical staff collection, procurement, equipment bidding, medical supplies have not improved but are even worse than ever. If the National Assembly deputies had time to visit local hospitals, they would have seen this potentially dangerous situation. Many health workers, social insurance officers, voters, and patients have conveyed to me their feelings about the current difficulties in the future of the Vietnamese health system. Finding the answer in my opinion is not easy because the problems that have lasted for many terms are recognized by everyone but are becoming more and more complex.

Bidding and procurement of equipment and medicines are the biggest concerns of the vast majority of both public and private hospitals. Recently a minister also complained to me that he wanted to buy Zinat tablets, a very common antibiotic that cannot be bought in stores. Moreover, the shortage of high-quality human resources is now even less, because wages do not increase but tend to decrease. According to statistics, in public hospitals, there are not enough facilities and facilities to deploy new and modern techniques, making doctors no matter how good they are, they have to give up and become discouraged. Therefore, I respectfully request the National Assembly the following issues:

First, review and give detailed and specific opinions soon to finalize the draft Law on Medical Examination and Treatment (amended) in this period and pass it at the next meeting.

Secondly, supervise the Government, issue early decrees and key circulars to remove serious problems of the health system, such as the resolution to slow down the COVID epidemic, as well as guide the settlement of expenses. anti-epidemic, unifying health insurance payment for a number of specific fields.

Third, have specific budget sources included in the economic recovery package for grassroots health care; invest in high technology in specialized hospitals; policies on training, quality improvement, talent attraction, and human resources are extremely difficult for the health sector today.

Finally, as a doctor who is still directly treating patients, I hope that senior leaders and members of the National Assembly can understand somewhat the difficulties we are facing. yes, it’s not just about the material, but at the moment it’s mainly about the spirit, stability and development direction is clearly what we medical staff need most right now.

The recent COVID representative has demonstrated the ability of the Vietnamese health sector to overcome difficulties. I am proud to be able to witness directly the President of Stanford University School of Medicine sharing with the Prime Minister during the recent trip about his admiration for Vietnam’s anti-epidemic model. With limited resources, but our mortality rate is much lower than that of rich countries, the main contributor is certainly Vietnamese medical staff. But in peacetime themselves, they were extremely confused when the sudden events happened, the worms were removed from the system, the newcomers to the task were extremely confused, struggling to find a way for them. right, because going anywhere is entangled, doing anything can be wrong when the current legal system is not complete.

We always consider social security as a goal to strive for. Health and education are the two pillars of social security, but these two areas are facing many difficulties. The influence is not only for a few years, but in my opinion will be for many years, over many generations, leaving unpredictable consequences, but the most damaging is our people and voters. We hope that the members of the National Assembly pay special attention.

Thank you very much.