According to a report from the ministry, thousands of health workers have resigned over the past two years including 900 in the capital, Hanoi.

In HCM City, over 1,000 doctors and nurses resigned in 2021 when a large-scale Covid-19 outbreak hit the city. And nearly 400 others left jobs in the first quarter of this year.

In the southern province of Dong Nai, as many as 230 doctors, nurses, and other staff members at local hospitals and healthcare centres resigned from work in the first sixth months of 2022, a much higher number compared to previous years.

The same problem was reported in the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai where 110 health workers quit their jobs in 2021 and 23 others resigned in the first half of 2022.

To ensure proper healthcare services in the country, the ministry has asked health departments in all localities to report about the situation between January 1 and June 15, 2022.

At a government meeting on June 23, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh also asked for solutions to the shortages of drugs and medical supplies and the resignations among health workers.

Explaining the drug and medical supply shortages in some localities and central-level hospitals, the Ministry of Health pointed to the Covid-19 pandemic, which had serious impacts in 2020 and 2021 that led to the scarcity of materials for production and surged prices and subsequently made it more difficult to purchase medicine and medical supplies.

In addition, resignations among health workers in the public sector have increased, the ministry said, blaming that on low salaries and allowances in the public health network, especially preventive medicine and grassroots health facilities, as well as high pressure, especially since the Covid-19 pandemic broke out.

PM Chinh requested relevant ministries and sectors to have a thorough grasp of the situation, analyse causes, and coordinate closely to deal with the situation in a timely and effective manner.

He said the successful containment of Covid-19 had helped the economy recover and develop. However, the pandemic remains complex in some countries while other outbreaks like dengue fever, monkeypox, and hand-foot-mouth disease have made the situation more complicated, the leader stressed.

Therefore, apart from increasing the anti-Covid-19 capacity, it was also necessary to reserve drugs, medical supplies, and manpower for coping with other outbreaks and providing healthcare services for people, he said.

Source: Dtinews/VNA