Post-merger healthcare: Closer to the people, stronger frontline.

In accordance with the Party and State's policy on reorganizing the local government apparatus, the newly established Tuyen Quang province, formed by the merger of Tuyen Quang and Ha Giang provinces, will take effect from July 1, 2025. In this context, healthcare, especially the operation of commune and ward health stations, will continue to fulfill its role as the frontline, close to the people, and effective in disease prevention and primary healthcare.

Ensuring healthcare is always close to the people.

According to the plan to establish the Department of Health of Tuyen Quang province based on the reorganization and merger of the Departments of Health of Tuyen Quang and Ha Giang provinces, for the time being, normal operations will be maintained after the merger, without any organizational disruption, to ensure medical examination, treatment, and healthcare for the people. The health stations will continue to be under the jurisdiction of the inter-communal/ward regional health centers, and these centers will be under the jurisdiction of the Department of Health, ensuring unified professional guidance from the province to the commune level.

Nguyen Duy Dong, a nursing graduate and head of the Lung Cu Commune Health Station, examines a patient.

Lung Cu commune (formed by the merger of three communes: Lung Cu, Ma Le, and Lung Tao) currently has nearly 4,000 households with over 15,000 inhabitants, of which the Mong ethnic group accounts for over 70% of the population. Currently, the three health stations of the three former communes still operate according to their old model and locations. Nguyen Duy Dong, a Bachelor of Nursing and Head of the Lung Cu Commune Health Station, shared: “The policy of merging the province and communes has received high consensus from the people. I believe that maintaining the operation of the current health stations is appropriate, avoiding disruption in accessing primary healthcare services, especially for people in remote areas with difficult access.”

Ms. Long Thi Huong, from Quang Ha village, Quang Nguyen commune, said: “The work of caring for people's health needs to be improved. I hope that the current health stations will not only be maintained as before, but also have more doctors so that for less complicated illnesses, people can feel confident and trust in going there for examination and medication, without necessarily having to go to the hospital. Therefore, we very much hope that the health stations in the communes will continue to be maintained for a long time and become more spacious and convenient.”

Not only in remote and rural communes, but even residents in central communes and wards with better economic conditions and transportation have expressed their excitement upon learning that local health stations will continue to operate as before. Ms. Nguyen Thi Hoa from Yen Son commune shared: “I suffer from high blood pressure and diabetes, so I have to go to the health station every month to get my medication. My house is 200 meters from the health station, and maintaining the operation of the health stations helps me avoid traveling further, which is very convenient for my regular check-ups and medication.”

For the purpose of serving the people.

Maintaining and strengthening health stations after the merger of commune-level administrative units is an important policy of the Ministry of Health and local authorities, aiming to ensure the best possible service for the people. The province currently has 104 commune-level health stations and 22 regional polyclinics. Currently, 20% of communes in the province still lack doctors. Therefore, to address the shortage of doctors at commune health stations, many local health centers have had to deploy doctors from other centers or health stations to provide support two days a week to ensure health check-ups and medication for certain illnesses as prescribed for the people. The current merger of communes will also partially resolve the difficulty of the doctor shortage at commune health stations.

The health sector has determined that maintaining the stable operation of health stations not only reassures the public but also contributes to maintaining the grassroots healthcare system – the frontline in disease prevention and control and public health care. Simultaneously, the health sector will review the situation in each locality to advise competent authorities on supplementing personnel and investing in appropriate infrastructure, especially in disadvantaged areas.

Dr. Nguyen Thanh Hung, Director of the Tuyen Quang Department of Health, said: "First and foremost, we will focus on the most important goal: ensuring that all citizens, whether in accessible or remote areas, receive adequate and timely healthcare, without being affected by any administrative changes."

Text and photos: Minh Hoa

Source: https://baotuyenquang.com.vn/xa-hoi/202507/y-te-sau-sap-nhap-gan-dan-vung-tuyen-dau-b6c08ff/