The rate of good physicians in Dong Nai province leaving public hospitals for private facilities has risen alarmingly. Hence the provincial Department of Health has piloted physicians’ flat pay to increase their salary aiming to alleviate the matter.
At the latest meeting, the Department assigned Dong Nai General Hospital, Thong Nhat General Hospital and the General Hospital in Long Khanh to become financially self-sufficient and pilot measures to increase its budget in a bid to keep experienced physicians working at hospitals.
Deputy Director of Dong Nai General Hospital Dr. Le THi Phuong Tram said of 300 doctors in the hospital, 120 have been working at the hospital for two to five years accounting for 40 percent while 60 have been working for six years accounting for 20 percent. Their average pays are VVD9 million to VND15 million ($387,950 - $ 646,584) per person monthly.
Last year, out of as many as 32 doctors quit their job in the hospital to work in the private sector, three of them were deputy department heads and eight had post-graduate degrees. Just three first months of 2019, the hospital managers received resignation letters of six doctors and one of them had post-graduate degree.
According to Dr. Tram, young doctors with 2 to 5 years of working experience in public medical facilities are certified or those with post-graduate degree will quit their jobs rightly if they are invited by private sector. Some deputy department heads will become heads or higher position in private institutions.
Thong Nhat General Hospital Director Dr. Pham Van Dung said that not only doctors but also experienced nurses have been seduced into working in nonpublic facilities with high income.
According to the provincial Department of Health’s statistics, in 2018, 97 doctors in state infirmaries quit their jobs to transfer to private sector; of them, 23 had post-graduate degrees while just in three first months of 2019, 18 doctors stopped working public facilities. Six other doctors have sent resignation letters to the Department.
Not surprisingly, the health sector in Dong Nai encouraged medical facilities to adopt synchronous measures to raise medical workers’ income to retain them.
Director of the Department of Health Dr. Phan Huy Anh Vu admitted that many doctors have been quitting their jobs in public infirmaries to years because of low pay compared to their peers in nonpublic institutions.
Accordingly, Long Khanh General Hospital will pay flat rate to doctors who provide treatment to both inpatients and outpatients. A doctor will enjoy a part of a patient’s charges. With the new method, hopefully, doctors’ income will be raised and doctors will be more responsible for patients’ health condition when patients are admitted until they are discharged.
Meanwhile, Dong Nai General Hospital will divide its profit to offer doctors as bonus with the aim to retain good ones. Hence, in addition to stable income, doctors will have monthly bonus.
(Source:SGGP)
