Dong Nai speeds up handover of health stations to communes, wards

On December 17, Le Truong Son, Member of the Provincial Party Standing Committee and Vice Chairman of the Dong Nai Provincial People’s Committee, chaired a working session with the Department of Health and relevant departments and agencies on the progress of reorganizing and transferring public health service units to the management of communes and wards.

The meeting was held in a hybrid format, combining in-person and online participation, with connections to communes, wards, and regional health centers across the province.

Leader of the Department of Health reports on the progress of implementing the plan to reorganize health stations. Photo: Bich Nhan

According to Do Thi Nguyen, Director of the Dong Nai Department of Health, the Department has implemented the plan across all 22 regional health centers and 95 commune- and ward-level health stations in the province. In Phase 1, the health sector will transfer the existing facilities and human resources of health stations and satellite points to the management of commune- and ward-level People’s Committees in their current state. For the 22 regional health centers, the Department of Health will transfer all personnel engaged in population work, food safety and hygiene, social protection activities, and part of the workforce involved in disease control (preventive system), accounting, and related functions to be reassigned to health stations.

The transfer of commune-level health stations to the management of commune- and ward-level People’s Committees is scheduled to be completed before January 1, 2026. In Phase 2, the Department of Health will develop a plan to reorganize the regional health centers.

At the meeting, representatives from various departments, agencies, regional health centers, and communes and wards discussed and proposed several issues related to financial mechanisms, human resources, grassroots-level medical equipment, as well as the transfer of certain functions from regional health centers to communes and wards for units not subject to dissolution.

Le Truong Son, Member of the Provincial Party Standing Committee and Vice Chairman of the Dong Nai Provincial People’s Committee, emphasizes that the reorganization and transfer of public health service units to communes and wards is an important political task. Photo: Bich Nhan

In his concluding remarks, Vice Chairman Le Truong Son emphasized that the reorganization and transfer of public health service units to communes and wards is a critical political task that must be carried out urgently and in a coordinated manner. Accordingly, the Provincial People's Committee has approved the establishment of a task force to implement the plan, starting December 18, led by the Department of Health, with participation from the Departments of Home Affairs, Finance, and the provincial social insurance agency.

At the same time, a hotline will be established to promptly receive and address difficulties and obstacles faced by regional health centers, as well as to support and guide communes and wards in operating health stations, particularly during the first six months of 2026.

The Vice Chairman also assigned the Department of Health to compile the requirements and advise the Provincial People's Committee on solutions to support health stations whose facilities are under construction or renovation in planned development areas, ensuring an appropriate scale and space for operations after the reorganization.

In addition, the Department of Health is tasked with reviewing and compiling statistics on staffing at regional health centers, ensuring full entitlements, benefits, and policies for civil servants and employees throughout the restructuring process. The department is also required to coordinate with the Department of Home Affairs and the Department of Finance to issue guidance documents that enable communes and wards to develop plans for establishing public service units and defining job positions, to be completed by December 31, 2025.

By Bich Nhan – Translated by Trieu Ngan, Minho