Decision No. 30/2008/QD-TTg Approves the Master Plan for the Development of Healthcare Networks until 2010 and Vision until 2020

Pursuant to …;

Approve the Master Plan for Developing the Healthcare Network until 2010 and Vision until 2020

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PRIME MINISTER

Pursuant to the Law on Organization of the Government dated December 25, 2001;

On the basis of Decree No. 188/2007/NĐ-CP dated December 27, 2007 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Health;

On the basis of Decree No. 92/2006/NĐ-CP dated September 7, 2006 of the Government on the establishment, approval, and management of the overall master plan for socio-economic development and Decree No. 04/2008/NĐ-CP dated January 11, 2008 of the Government amending and supplementing certain articles of Decree No. 92/2006/NĐ-CP dated September 7, 2006 of the Government on the establishment, approval, and management of the overall master plan for socio-economic development;

On the basis of Decision No. 153/2006/QĐ-TTg dated June 30, 2006 of the Prime Minister approving the Overall Master Plan for Developing the Healthcare System in Vietnam until 2010 and Vision until 2020;

Considering the proposal of the Minister of Health,

DECISION:

Article 1. Approve the Master Plan for Developing the Healthcare Network until 2010 and Vision until 2020 with the main contents as follows:

1. Planning objectives

a) General objectives

Building and developing the healthcare network in accordance with the conditions of economic and social development of the country, improving the quality of healthcare services to match those of advanced countries in the region, meeting the needs for medical examination and treatment of the people towards the goals of fairness, efficiency, and development.

b) Specific Objectives

- By 2010, achieve a minimum ratio of 20.5 hospital beds per 10,000 inhabitants (including 2 private hospital beds). By 2020, achieve a minimum ratio of 25.0 hospital beds per 10,000 inhabitants (including 5 private hospital beds);

- By 2010, at least 80% of healthcare facilities will be able to perform techniques according to the technical level list prescribed by the Ministry of Health;

- By 2010, over 80% and by 2020 all hospitals will have waste treatment systems as prescribed by the Ministry of Health;

- By 2010, all healthcare facilities must self-monitor the quality of healthcare services as prescribed by the Ministry of Health. By 2015, regular quality assessment of healthcare services must be conducted at all healthcare facilities;

- By 2020, complete the relocation of infectious disease hospitals to suitable areas;

- By 2015, 100% of centrally governed cities and provinces will have traditional medicine hospitals; by 2020, 100% of centrally governed cities and provinces will have rehabilitation hospitals.

2. Planning viewpoints

a) Ensuring the systemic and continuous nature of professional activities at each level and between levels. Balanced and reasonable development between general hospitals and specialized hospitals, promoting universal healthcare combined with specialized healthcare, and between modern medicine and traditional medicine.

b) For centrally governed cities and provinces with Class I cities, focus investment on hospitals under the Ministry of Health and terminal hospitals; for provinces in the delta region, Class II and III cities, focus investment on provincial hospitals; for mountainous regions, remote areas, and ethnic minority areas, focus investment on both provincial and district hospitals to ensure convenient access to healthcare services for all people.

c) Organize the healthcare network based on community clusters and medical technical levels. The scale of each hospital should be appropriate to the population within its jurisdiction.

d) Gradually transfer hospitals under various ministries to centrally governed cities or dissolve them if they are no longer needed or are not effective; convert rehabilitation centers of the health sector into rehabilitation hospitals.

đ) Prioritize training and developing human resources in healthcare; reform hospital management mechanisms and methods to improve the quality of medical examination and treatment.

3. Planning content

a) Organization of the healthcare network

- According to medical technical levels:

+ Level 1: District hospitals, county hospitals, and commune health stations (collectively referred to as district hospitals) and commune health stations (collectively referred to as commune health stations);

+ Level 2: Provincial general hospitals and specialized hospitals, regional general hospitals (collectively referred to as provincial hospitals);

+ Level 3: General hospitals and specialized hospitals directly under the Ministry of Health and some hospitals in centrally governed cities as prescribed by the Ministry of Health.

- According to administrative management levels:

+ Hospitals directly under the Ministry of Health;

+ Hospitals under provinces;

+ Hospitals under the health sector.

b) Development of specialized medical techniques

- Focus investment on four deep-specialized medical centers: Hanoi, Hue-Da Nang, Ho Chi Minh City, and Can Tho;

- Focus construction on ten provincial general hospitals or hospitals in centrally governed cities or directly under the Ministry of Health to serve as regional hospitals.

c) Development of specialized hospitals based on demand, demographic structure, disease models, and economic and social conditions.

4. Master Plan for Developing the Healthcare Network until 2010 and Vision until 2020

a) Medical examination and treatment facilities and hospital beds until 2010 (excluding beds in commune health stations and hospitals under the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Public Security).

By 2010, there will be approximately 1,200 hospitals and research institutes with 190,000 hospital beds. By 2020, there will be approximately 1,300 hospitals and research institutes with 250,000 hospital beds.

b) Four deep-specialized medical centers in Hanoi, Hue-Da Nang, Ho Chi Minh City, and Can Tho including hospitals prescribed by the Ministry of Health to meet the needs for medical examination and treatment of the people in the area.

c) Regional hospitals

Plan for ten regional hospitals as prescribed in Decision No. 153/2006/QĐ-TTg dated June 30, 2006 of the Prime Minister approving the Overall Master Plan for Developing the Healthcare System in Vietnam until 2010 and Vision until 2020.

d) Provincial and district hospitals

- Plan for provincial general and specialized hospitals and district hospitals as prescribed in Decision No. 153/2006/QĐ-TTg dated June 30, 2006 of the Prime Minister approving the Overall Master Plan for Developing the Healthcare System in Vietnam until 2010 and Vision until 2020;

- Promote socialization activities in medical examination and treatment to ensure that provinces with Class II cities or higher have at least 5 private hospital beds per 10,000 people by 2010 and 10 private hospital beds per 10,000 people by 2020.

d) Regional multi-disciplinary outpatient clinics

Maintain the operation of regional multi-disciplinary outpatient clinics located in mountainous, remote, and far-flung areas where commune health stations are unable to provide basic medical examination and treatment services.

e) Commune health stations

Continue to strengthen and invest in developing the network of commune health stations in terms of infrastructure, equipment, and human resources. Strive for approximately 80% of all commune health stations nationwide to meet national standards for commune health by 2010, and for all commune health stations to meet these standards by 2015.

g) Emergency care and patient transport networks

Develop and expand state and private emergency care and patient transport networks in provinces and cities to ensure 24-hour availability for out-of-hospital emergency care and timely, safe patient transportation.

h) Quality control of medical examination and treatment services

Establish a quality control network for healthcare services to support medical examination and treatment activities across the country.

5. Implementation measures

a) Gradually improve the legal system and intensify efforts to disseminate and educate the public to voluntarily comply with laws on medical examination and treatment. Strengthen inspection, supervision, and strictly handle violations of laws related to medical examination and treatment.

b) Reform hospital management mechanisms

- Vigorously promote administrative reform, focusing on streamlining administrative procedures to facilitate timely and convenient medical examination and treatment services for the public;

- Continue to reform the management mechanism of state hospitals towards increasing autonomy and responsibility for fulfilling tasks, organizational structure, staffing, and finance.

c) Promote socialization in medical examination and treatment and diversify service forms. Ensure equal conditions for both state and private medical examination and treatment facilities; continuously improve the quality of medical examination and treatment services for the public.

d) Develop healthcare human resources

- Enhance training and continuous education programs, prioritizing economically and socially disadvantaged regions;

- Focus on training specialized professionals, leading experts, and healthcare managers;

- Implement certification for medical practitioners and healthcare staff in both state and private sectors.

đ) Science and technology solutions

- Intensify research, application, and transfer of new techniques to serve medical examination and treatment;

- Conduct quality control of healthcare services at medical examination and treatment facilities according to regulations of the Ministry of Health; accelerate the application of information technology in medical examination and treatment activities.

e) Investment and financial solutions

- Create breakthroughs in investment, particularly from the state budget and ODA funds, for the development of medical examination and treatment networks. Increase mobilization of other legitimate social capital to implement planning;

- State hospitals may engage in joint ventures, partnerships with other economic entities, or borrow preferential loans from the state to invest in building and purchasing equipment to develop hospitals.

6. Implementation timeline

a) Period 2008-2010

- Prioritize upgrading district general hospitals and regional multi-disciplinary outpatient clinics; enhance the capacity of commune health stations. Accelerate the progress of implementing projects to build and develop provincial and provincial-level general hospitals;

- Effectively implement projects to upgrade general hospitals in the Central Highlands, Northern Mountains, Mekong Delta region, and other planned investment projects;

- Increase investment in central specialized healthcare centers: Hanoi, Hue-Da Nang, Ho Chi Minh City;

- Invest in upgrading and developing hospitals in areas with low bed ratios;

- Prioritize investment to accelerate the training of healthcare personnel to ensure sufficient quality to meet the needs of medical examination and treatment work.

b) Period 2011-2020

- Continue to complete and focus on developing advanced techniques at specialized healthcare centers, general and specialized hospitals under the Ministry of Health, provincial and provincial-level general hospitals to meet the increasingly diverse and high-quality demands for healthcare services serving the protection, care, and improvement of public health;

- Invest in developing the high-level medical examination and treatment capabilities of the Can Tho Central General Hospital to be capable of assuming the function of a specialized healthcare center in the Mekong Delta region.

Article 2. Implementation

1. The Ministry of Health is the main agency coordinating with relevant ministries, agencies, and provincial People's Committees to develop implementation programs and plans, organize inspections, and report regularly to the Prime Minister on the implementation of the Master Plan.

2. The Ministry of Planning and Investment is responsible for allocating and balancing investment resources for the healthcare sector to implement the Master Plan according to schedule; monitor the implementation of the Master Plan nationwide.

3. The Ministry of Finance is responsible for ensuring state budget funding for the healthcare sector according to five-year and annual plans; coordinate with the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Ministry of Health to balance the budget for implementing this Master Plan.

4. Relevant ministries and sectors are responsible for coordinating with the Ministry of Health to allocate resources from their respective ministries and sectors to implement this Master Plan.

5. Chairpersons of provincial People's Committees directly under the central government are responsible for directing and organizing the implementation of this Master Plan within their jurisdiction.

Article 3. This Decision This Decision shall take effect 15 days after its publication in the Official Gazette. This Decision does not apply to medical examination and treatment facilities of the Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Public Security.

Article 4Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, heads of agencies under the Government, and chairpersons of provincial People's Committees directly under the central government are responsible for enforcing this Decision./.