2022 was an extremely challenging year for Da Nang’s healthcare sector due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the sector's staff, and the city’s healthcare system as a whole. As a result, hundreds of doctors and nurses in public healthcare facilities quit their jobs or found better ones, causing a shortage of human resources in public hospitals, especially grassroots health facilities, as well as putting more pressure on the city’s healthcare system.

Appropriate policies will help increase engagement of healthcare staff in their jobs. IN THE PHOTO: Surgeons of the Da Nang General Hospital are performing a heart surgery. Photo: PHAN CHUNG

Given this situation, the Da Nang government took proactive and timely measures to improve spiritual and material life of healthcare staff in public health facilities in a bid to increase staff engagement in their jobs, provide better care, and drive patient satisfaction.

In particular, the recent 10^th session of the Da Nang People's Council in its 10^th tenure for the 2021-2026 term passed many specific policies that benefit healthcare workers. Included are special payments for staff performing tasks involving the prevention and control of infectious diseases, preferential policies to attract top doctors, and allowances for public healthcare workers. These policies are expected to be proactive and basis steps for Da Nang to attract top doctors and retain their current talent.

One of the city’s policies that highlight the profound humanity is the issuance of a resolution stipulating the policy on supporting children with congenital heart disease in the city during their surgery applicable to children living under the city’s poverty thresholds and those who live under social protection receiving monthly allowances and having health insurance cards. The city’s budget will pay the rest of medical examination costs related to heart surgery after deducting the payment of health insurance premium, plus grants and aids from domestic and foreign organizations and individuals. As for food support, the rate of VND 100,000 per child per day is set for the children but the support period does not exceed 15 days. Also, they are eligible for subsidized travel costs.

Meanwhile, VND3 million per child is designated for examination and surgery at medical facilities in other parts of the country, including big cities like Ha Noi and Ho Chi Minh City according to the actual price of the means of transport public transport.

Children are vulnerable because they cannot choose the social and physical environments in which they were born and grow up. Hence, child-friendly policies which is used to provide best healthcare service and good education for this vulnerable group help lay a strong foundation for the city to ensure healthy future for children.

Between 2014 and 2021, Da Nang has effectively implemented programmes to provide free heart surgery to children with heart disease. The city has spent a combined total of VND more than 22 billion to provide life-saving surgeries for 443 poor children having congenital heart disease. In addition, Congenital Heart Disease Screening Program has been implemented across the city to detect 343,200 children with heart defects. These programmes helped save lives of poor children with heart disease as they have been supported to gain access to screening programs for early detection of heart disease, timely treatment and rehabilitation. The city’s programmes to provide free heart surgery to children with heart disease play an important role in helping the city effectively implement its socio-economic development tasks in an attempt to improve local people's health and reduce the burden on the healthcare sector. As part of the city’s long-term goal, many policies to bring benefits to local residents have been issued to ensure social protection for all. These policies have proved effective and have received strong public support due to practical and timely support given to those who need it.

With funds from many sources, including donations raised from domestic and foreign individuals and organizations, aids, and the city’s budget, the programmes to provide free heart surgery to children with heart disease have helped save hundreds of lives, as well as bring happiness and smiles to them.

Currently, there are more than 7,000 public health workers, 1,809 population health collaborators, and 119 village health workers across Da Nang. In addition, the city has a ratio of 17 doctors  per 10,000 population, and the figure is much higher than the national average level.

Municipal-level hospitals in Da Nang, and the city’ healthcare sector as a whole, are responsible for examinations, treatment and care of patients in the city and elsewhere in Central Viet Nam and Central Highlands as Da Nang is a key city in the central region. Hence, the issuance of appropriate policies plays a vital role in motivating healthcare staff, and the health sector as a whole, to overcome current challenges to fulfill their mission and responsibility.

Reporting by BAO KHANH – Translating by H.L