Health Minister Nguyen Thi Kim Tien has just faced many questions from National Assembly deputies following the sector’s recent problems and has also been urged to do something to regain the public's confidence.
Health Minister Nguyen Thi Kim Tien
At a meeting of the National Assembly (NA) Social Affairs Committee on September 25, the NA deputies questioned the minister over recent violations in the health sector.
According to the deputies, the cases, including the death of three babies in Quang Tri Province after getting Hepatitis B vaccinations and blood test results duplication at Hoai Duc District General Hospital in Hanoi, were really big issues in the health sector. These have caused people to lose trust in the sector.
Deputy Head of the committee Nguyen Van Tien said, although police have not yet announced the official conclusion about the vaccine case, he raised questions about vaccine storage and injection techniques, particularly in the context of power outages.
The Minister said the deaths could be due to one of the three folllowign reasons: body reactions to the vaccine, vaccine-related problems and the ever-present death risk from the vaccination. She added that, every country lives with this risk, even in the US, and children’s death rates in Vietnam, which is less than that of Indonesia and the Philippines.
For the blood test results duplication at Hoai Duc District General Hospital, which affected more than 1,000 patients, the minister said that it was incredible. It seems the Ministry of Health knew nothing about these violations before their revelation by mass media and the public, even though it has inspection agencies. Tien explained that, “Someone's violation is an internal issue, therefore, it's impossible for inspectors to detect it. When we go to an agency for inspection, they always show us their legal activities very clearly.”
She called for the participation of NA deputies as well as NA committees to help find out more wrongdoings.
Chairwoman of the National Assembly Social Affairs Committee Truong Thi Mai said, “I recognise that the public has gradually lost their confidence in the health sector, thus, it is essential for the ministry to send to them a message about its responsibility to regain their trust.”
