Ca Mau identifies and addresses challenges facing grassroots healthcare.

Since officially reducing the number of healthcare units from 164 to 64 (after the provincial merger), the grassroots healthcare system in Ca Mau has faced numerous difficulties, especially a shortage of leadership, professional staff, and inadequate infrastructure. These are bottlenecks that Ca Mau's leaders have identified in order to address them as soon as possible.

The scene at the conference on the afternoon of April 28th aimed at resolving difficulties for the grassroots healthcare "front line" in Ca Mau province.

On the afternoon of April 28th, the People's Committee of Ca Mau province held a meeting to assess and resolve obstacles and difficulties facing the grassroots healthcare system.

According to a report from the Ca Mau Department of Health at the conference, the province's commune and ward health facilities currently have 1,695 staff members, but are still short of 407 positions compared to the target. Even more concerning, 14 health stations have vacant director positions, and 14 stations lack deputy directors. The shortage extends to supporting departments as well, with 31 stations lacking accountants and 55 stations without IT personnel.

A view of the Khánh Hưng Commune Health Station, a primary healthcare facility in Cà Mau.

Mr. Nguyen Tan Luc, Deputy Director of the Ca Mau Department of Health, expressed his concern: "The shortage of personnel on constant duty not only creates great pressure on the medical staff who are already stationed there, but also directly affects the quality and timeliness of healthcare for the local people."

In addition to a shortage of personnel, many commune and ward health stations in Ca Mau are also facing a shortage of medicine.

Besides the shortage of manpower, infrastructure is also a major challenge. Most current headquarters utilize old buildings from mergers and have not received comprehensive upgrades, leading to a serious shortage of essential functional rooms such as administrative offices, pharmacies, and paraclinical areas.

Dr. Nguyen Thanh Phuong, Director of the Vinh Thanh Commune Health Station, shared the reality: The equipment at the station is extremely rudimentary, mainly relying on a stethoscope and a blood pressure monitor. Essential equipment such as ultrasound machines, electrocardiographs, or biochemical testing equipment remains a dream. Even the digital transformation process is hampered by the fact that the computer system, which is over 10 years old, frequently malfunctions.

Disruptions in the supply of health insurance medications are also one of the sad stories of grassroots healthcare in Ca Mau. People frequently lack specialized medications for chronic diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and even common stomach medications and antibiotics. The integration of non-communicable disease management records after the merger of communes also faces numerous obstacles due to inconsistent data.

Based on the above situation, the Ca Mau Department of Health recommends that the Provincial People's Committee consider increasing staffing quotas, especially to fill administrative and accounting positions, and at the same time call for stronger investment in infrastructure and equipment for the grassroots health system in the province.

Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Ca Mau province, Nguyen Minh Luan, delivered the concluding remarks at the conference.

Speaking at the conference, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Ca Mau province, Nguyen Minh Luan, acknowledged the difficulties and proposals from the grassroots level, and emphasized: "Only with a strong grassroots healthcare system can the health of the people be safe."

In that spirit, in the coming period, the leaders of Ca Mau province will focus on directing efforts to overcome difficulties for the grassroots healthcare system, including establishing reasonable funding norms for preventive medicine, ensuring that absolutely no one lacks medicines covered by health insurance.

At the same time, strengthening professional and information technology training for grassroots staff will be a key task, determined to make health stations truly a solid support for the people.

HUU TUNG

Source: https://nhandan.vn/ca-mau-nhan-dien-de-go-kho-cho-tuyen-y-te-co-so-post958967.html