A doctor using an ultrasound scanner in Hà Nội's Đức Giang General Hospital. VNA/VNS Photo Dương Ngọc

Professor Doctor Lương Ngọc Khuê, director general of the Administration of Medical Service speaks to the website suckhoedoisong.vn on his administration’s resolve to give the best services to patients

How did your administration become one of seven Vietnamese medical units in the ‘15^th Việt Nam Glory’ emulation campaign to follow Uncle Hồ’s Teaching?

With approval from the Ministry of Health leaders, our administration participated in the movement to follow Uncle Hồ’s example.

We have submitted to the organising committee of the campaign some of the best initiatives introduced in our daily assignments. Two of our initiatives won high approval. First was the issuance of 83 quality criteria for a high quality hospital with more than 1,500 detailed items – ranging from the establishment of a high quality management system from the central down to all hospitals nationwide. A key objective of this management system is to have an independent set of tools to rank the quality of hospitals.

Second, this management system helped us conduct a survey on the satisfaction of patients and health staff nationwide through using online software developed by our administration.

The Administration of Medical Service has also come up with a set of measures and criteria to rank hospital services nationwide.

In short, our highest objective is to offer the best service quality to the patients.

Besides, our administration has co-operated closely with concerned departments/agencies in the Ministry of Health to develop many medical projects at both Governmental level and the Ministry of Health level to give the best medical service to the people. With our strong co-operation with hospitals nationwide, many high medical techniques have been transferred to help patients to receive up-to-date medical treatment in hospitals or medical centres in their localities.

It is indisputable that socio-economic efficiency in improving the quality of public health services has been acknowledged. As a result, we have saved millions of working hours for both patients and their family members and saved more than VNĐ300 billion per year in medical tests for the patients.

Can you talk more about the survey on patients’ satisfaction with services provided by the public health service?

With an objective to improve the health service for the general public, all hospitals nationwide have sent out more than 2.5 million questionnaires on how to improve the services of public hospitals nationwide. For example, in a survey we conducted in 2017 on public hospital toilets, we received quite a lot of feedback on poor toilet sanitation. After such feedback, the Health Minister immediately ordered the holding of a special seminar on hospital toilets. Following such a seminar there was a lot of improvement in toilet sanitation in almost all hospitals nationwide.

In the last five years, with the spirit of renewal and creativity, the Agency of Health Examination and Treatment has come up with quite many initiatives and breakthroughs to bring the best health services to the general public. With all achievements gained in 2018, the Agency of Health Examination and Treatment has been awarded the 1^st Labour Order by the Vietnamese Party and Government_VNS