Shortage of social work personnel.

The job of "serving many masters".

On Monday morning, the Outpatient Department of the Ho Chi Minh City Oncology Hospital received thousands of patients. Many were unsure how to complete the registration process and were meticulously guided by the hospital's Social Work Department staff.

Ms. Nguyen Hong Diem, Head of the Social Work Department, who has been associated with the Ho Chi Minh City Oncology Hospital for over 20 years, said that every day at the hospital's second facility (Thu Duc City), there are approximately 3,000-4,000 patients visiting for examination and treatment. Overwhelmed, doctors lack the time and energy to advise and answer all the questions from patients and their families, leading to unnecessary conflicts.

“In reality, many relatives, out of worry for the patient, clashed with doctors and nurses. After we investigated the causes, provided thorough advice and explanations, most people happily and actively cooperated with the doctors. As a result, the medical team also experienced less psychological pressure and improved the quality of examination and treatment,” shared Ms. Nguyen Hong Diem, M.Sc.

Ms. Nguyen Hong Diem, Head of the Social Work Department, Ho Chi Minh City Oncology Hospital, presents gifts to patients undergoing treatment at the hospital.

Besides acting as an "extension" between patients and doctors, social workers in hospitals also frequently go door-to-door to solicit donations from philanthropists and businesses to help underprivileged and less fortunate patients overcome serious illnesses. Despite the hard work, they feel immense happiness when patients announce they have recovered and are ready to be discharged from the hospital.

Statistics from the Ministry of Health show that currently 100% of central-level hospitals, 97% of provincial and city-level hospitals, and nearly 90% of district-level hospitals have social work departments/units. However, the remuneration for social workers in hospitals is inadequate; the majority of social workers in hospitals are part-time (over 60%), while the percentage of staff in social work departments/units with specialized training is low. Furthermore, there is currently no training program for social workers working in hospitals/healthcare facilities; and there are no competency standards for social workers in healthcare facilities…

Addressing human resource challenges

According to the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, the country currently has a network of approximately 230,000 social work collaborators, civil servants, and public employees. Of these, 35,000 are civil servants, public employees, and workers at public and private social facilities; nearly 100,000 work at associations and organizations at all levels; and the remainder are collaborators in poverty reduction, social vice prevention, child protection, and community development. The demand for social work human resources in Vietnam is very high, but currently, the country only has 76 colleges and universities training social work personnel, thus only meeting 30% of the social assistance needs.

In Ho Chi Minh City alone, there are currently 6,500 people working in social work. Specifically, 3,000 work in drug rehabilitation centers; over 1,000 are officials and staff of the district and ward/commune/township Departments of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs; and approximately 2,500 are from the Departments of Health , Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs, Justice, and the Ho Chi Minh City Youth Union, supporting 92 social assistance facilities (public and private), caring for, nurturing, and implementing social policies for about 170,000 people receiving regular social assistance in the community.

“Coordination with social work training institutions has been implemented before. However, the nature of this coordination has only been limited to individual programs and projects, not systematized into a long-term cooperation plan involving many parties, and lacking a clear system of goals and targets. Therefore, the full potential and strengths of social work training institutions have not been utilized to give the social work profession in the city the best opportunity to develop strongly,” said Mr. Le Van Thinh, Director of the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs of Ho Chi Minh City.

According to Mr. Le Van Thinh, in order to overcome difficulties in recruiting social work personnel and to move towards greater professionalism and efficiency, the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs recently signed cooperation agreements with 7 universities and academies in the city to organize training, retraining, and professional development programs to improve the skills and expertise of social work officials, staff, and collaborators, in order to meet the requirements of the current period.

Dr. Pham Ngoc Thanh, Director of Campus II, University of Labour and Social Affairs (in Ho Chi Minh City), shared that social work is a relatively new profession in Vietnam, therefore, it requires the joint efforts and coordination of various departments, agencies, and training institutions to promote its development. The university is committed to working alongside the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs in training and retraining human resources who are both professionally competent and dedicated to social work.

Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Tuan Hung, Deputy Director of the Department of Organization and Personnel (Ministry of Health): To ensure effective social work in healthcare facilities and to encourage long-term commitment of healthcare staff, it is necessary to promptly issue competency standards for social workers in hospitals; finalize Circular 43/2015/TT-BYT of the Ministry of Health regulating the forms and duties of social workers in hospitals; and develop criteria for evaluating the quality of social work in hospitals. Simultaneously, it is crucial to strengthen training, workshops, and scientific research; and establish additional social work departments at Hanoi Medical University, the Faculty of Medicine - Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City, and Ho Chi Minh City University of Medicine and Pharmacy…

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/thieu-hut-nhan-luc-cong-tac-xa-hoi-post716443.html