Ho Chi Minh City: Proposing synchronous policies for education and healthcare in Thanh An island commune

A survey by the Ho Chi Minh City People's Council's Culture and Social Affairs Committee in Can Gio and Thanh An communes showed that students and teachers in Thanh An island commune still face many difficulties. The Ho Chi Minh City People's Council leaders acknowledged this and requested research to expand educational and health care support policies for this area.

On September 24, the Culture - Society Committee of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Council organized a survey on the situation and performance of educational facilities, the grassroots health system, cultural and religious institutions and historical relics in Can Gio and Thanh An communes.

Leaders of the Department of Culture and Social Affairs surveyed schools, the Cultural and Sports Service Center of Can Gio commune, Can Gio District Hospital (a project to convert its function into Tu Du 2 Hospital)...

Proposal to upgrade healthcare in Thanh An island commune

In Can Gio commune, Ms. Vo Thi Diem Phuong, Vice Chairwoman of Can Gio Commune People's Committee, said that the commune has the Giong Ca Vo archaeological relic site, which is ranked as a national relic site. According to Ms. Phuong, the work of preserving and developing the relic is being carried out in 2 phases. Phase 1 of building a protective fence and road to the relic site has been completed. The project is now entering phase 2, implemented by the Center for Monument Conservation of the Department of Culture and Sports of Ho Chi Minh City with a total construction area of ​​about 3,000 m². To date, this phase has been completed by about 50%.

Doctor Luan Thanh Truong, Head of Thanh An Commune Health Station, said that the station is currently reinforced with 2 doctors with 2-3 years of experience, including a master's degree holder, rotating from upper-level hospitals to support every 2 months.

Head of the Culture and Social Affairs Committee of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Council Cao Thanh Binh visited people coming to see a doctor at Can Gio District Hospital.

PHOTO: THUY LIEU

"This human resource enhancement project will be maintained until 2025, helping to improve the station's professional capacity. However, for serious cases requiring surgery, the station still has to transfer patients to the mainland. Currently, the station has been approved to build a new one on an area of ​​nearly 2,000 square meters. When the project is completed, doctors can operate on the spot and then take patients home, contributing to improving the quality of medical care for the people," said Dr. Truong.

Mr. Truong also said that Thanh An commune currently has about 4,500 people and has been equipped with X-ray machines and AI imaging diagnostic systems. In addition, the commune has a traditional medicine treatment center with the strength of admitting about 40 patients/day, with traditional medicine doctors directly prescribing medicine, acupuncture, physical therapy and the main source of medicine is from the donation box of the people.

However, this oriental medicine point has not been connected to health insurance payments, making operations difficult. Mr. Truong recommended that the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health study the connection mechanism between the health station and the oriental medicine point to have reporting data, and at the same time include these drugs and services in the list of health insurance payments.

Thanh An island commune proposes synchronous policies for education

Mr. Tran Van Loi, Vice Chairman of Thanh An Commune People's Committee, said that the teaching staff in the island commune is now fully guaranteed to meet the teaching needs of students. However, the staff and civil servants of the Commune People's Committee still face difficulties. When there are storms, they cannot return to the mainland and have to stay overnight in the office.

Currently, the commune has a full system of schools from kindergarten, primary school to junior high school, high school, border guard station and some basic cultural institutions. Regarding tourism development, Mr. Loi said that the community tourism model in Thieng Lieng is still operating stably but the biggest inconvenience is transportation. Currently, no business has invested in exploiting the fixed transport route connecting Thanh An island with Thieng Lieng, tourists have to take a local ferry, wasting a lot of time and transit time.

Leaders of the Department of Culture and Social Affairs worked with leaders of Can Gio and Thanh An communes.

PHOTO: THUY LIEU

Mr. Loi added that the commune is currently implementing Resolution 38 of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Council on supporting students in disadvantaged areas, including Thanh An. This policy is very meaningful, helping students from the mainland to go to school on the island commune with financial support. In addition, the commune also coordinates with the border guard station to organize a boarding school model for the students.

However, Mr. Loi said that the current policy only applies to high school students, and there is no support for secondary school, college, and university students studying in Ho Chi Minh City. He suggested that the city consider expanding the support regime to reduce the burden of travel and accommodation costs for students.

The second proposal of Thanh An commune is related to the policy for teachers from the mainland to teach at kindergartens and primary schools in the island commune. Currently, each day these teachers have to pay about 300,000 VND/person out of their own pocket to rent a boat to go back and forth, and there is no support policy. Mr. Loi proposed that the city study and supplement the policy of paying travel expenses for teachers, similar to support for students, to encourage and ensure the stability of teaching human resources.

Taking note of the recommendations, the Head of the Culture and Social Affairs Committee of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Council, Cao Thanh Binh, requested the leaders of Thanh An commune to soon study and submit to the leaders of Ho Chi Minh City a mechanism to support the traditional medicine treatment point in the commune. According to Mr. Binh, traditional medicine treatment has not been covered by health insurance because it is not yet included in the payment list, and this list is very open, so it is necessary to study and propose to be included. Mr. Binh requested the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training to review and study Resolution 38 for synchronous implementation, not only applying to Thieng Lieng hamlet or Thanh An commune but also expanding to other difficult areas of the city.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/tphcm-de-xuat-chinh-sach-dong-bo-cho-giao-duc-y-te-xa-dao-thanh-an-185250924175742572.htm