Why have some doctors not been paid allowances according to Decree 05?

Recently, Dan Tri reporters received feedback from a number of medical staff in Ho Chi Minh City, expressing their desire to soon receive support to receive preferential occupational allowances according to Decree 05/2023/ND-CP for medical staff directly fighting the epidemic, in 2022 and 2023.

Decree 05/2023/ND-CP on preferential allowances for medical staff

Pursuant to Conclusion 25-KL/TW (December 30, 2021), the preferential allowance for preventive medicine and primary health care workers is increased from 40-70% to 100%. Applicable period: from January 1, 2022 to December 31, 2023.

Subjects: regular civil servants directly working in the field at: Preventive medical facilities (including border quarantine); Commune, ward and town health stations; regional polyclinics; maternity homes; Medical centers and hospitals at district, town, city and provincial levels or centrally run cities.

No allowances are paid according to Decree 05.

Ms. T., an employee of a professional department of Khanh Hoi General Hospital (formerly District 4 Hospital), shared that after Decree No. 05 of the Government was issued, in April 2023, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health issued an official dispatch reporting on the locality's need for preferential funding for professions.

According to the content of this document, the Hospital will report the funding source for payment. If there is not enough funding, it will be instructed to provide state budget funding.

After that, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health continued to issue 2 documents related to the above content. In which, there is a document dated November 25, 2024, with instructions to prioritize funding sources to pay allowances according to Decree 05 for medical staff.

However, according to Ms. T., up to now, employees eligible to receive money under Decree 05 at District 4 Hospital (more than 100 people) have not been paid in 2022 and 2023.

“During the pandemic, it is difficult to travel and fight the epidemic, we just want to contribute to taking care of people's health. When we heard about Decree 05, we were very happy because our efforts were recognized. If we follow the salary coefficient, I should receive about 70 million VND.

The hospital promised to pay, but it has been 2 years and nothing has been done. For us medical staff, this is a significant amount of income to have more money to take care of our families and children,” said Ms. T.

Similarly, Mr. V. - an employee of a treatment department at Khanh Hoi Hospital - also shared that he has been waiting for the allowance from Decree 05 for a long time, but until now does not know when he will receive it.

The situation of not having or not receiving enough allowances according to Decree 05 in 2022-2023 also occurs with some medical staff of other units such as Binh Phu General Hospital (former District 6 Hospital), Le Van Viet Hospital...

Hospital leaders speak out

Dan Tri reporter contacted the leaders of Khanh Hoi Hospital to find out. Doctor Do Thanh Tuan, Director of the Hospital, said that the medical staff of the unit have not received preferential allowances according to Decree 05/2023/ND-CP.

According to Dr. Tuan, after the Covid-19 epidemic, Decree 05 was issued by the Government with the policy of supporting grassroots health care and district hospitals to encourage the fight against the epidemic.

The beneficiaries of the support are officials who directly and regularly work in the medical field to fight the epidemic (official code V08). At Khanh Hoi Hospital, there are more than 100 people in this category.

To make the payment, hospitals must make a list of estimates and send it to the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health for synthesis, then submit it to the Department of Finance and the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee for approval.

By the end of November 2024, after many instructions, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health sent a document to district hospitals and Thu Duc City, stating that the units must prioritize the use of revenue from career activities and other legal funding sources to make payments.

“There are hospitals that have surplus funds, so they spend enough money. Some places can spend a year’s worth of money on staff. But our hospital has no surplus funds, so we cannot balance which source to spend from.

When spending according to the above mentioned areas, it also creates inequality, because to fight the epidemic, the direct and indirect departments all work hard.

For all the above reasons, the hospital has made written explanations and recommendations to the city. When the Department of Health inspection team recently came to survey the satisfaction of patients and medical staff, we also responded in detail about this matter," Dr. Tuan shared.

The leader of Binh Phu General Hospital (HCMC) said that this place also does not pay the preferential allowance according to Decree 05/ND-CP for medical staff who are eligible to receive it. The reason is that the unit does not have the resources to pay.

At Le Van Viet Hospital (old District 9), the head of the unit said that the place has balanced the budget to pay for more than 100 medical staff who are eligible to receive allowances according to Decree 05, during the period of 2022. For 2023, the unit no longer has a budget to pay.

Lanh Binh Thang General Hospital (former District 11 Hospital) is the place that fully settles Decree 05 money for civil servants with code V08 working at the unit.

Explaining this, a member of the Hospital Board of Directors said that the unit has built a salary reform fund for many years, so it has enough resources to pay the above amount.

“Fortunately, the allowance regime under Decree 05 only applies to 2022 and 2023, otherwise we would have difficulty in paying it. Because the current basic salary has increased and there are many other incomes to pay to employees, the hospital is also facing difficulties,” said the representative of Lanh Binh Thang Hospital.

Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health: Hospitals must balance their own financial resources to pay

Responding to reporters' questions, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health said that to implement Decree No. 05/2023/ND-CP, the agency has issued documents directing and guiding affiliated units to make an accurate list of civil servants eligible for the 2022-2023 regime, ensuring that no subjects are missed.

Regarding payment, the Department of Health has issued many documents directing units to review and synthesize funding needs and propose spending sources from the state budget, public revenue sources and other legal sources. This agency also reported and recommended the Department of Finance and the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee to consider supplementing funding for units.

Based on the guidance of the Ministry of Finance and the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Finance, the Department of Health recommends that units prioritize the use of revenue from career activities and other legal funding sources to pay preferential allowances for civil servants directly and regularly working in the medical profession.

In case the units have not paid or have not fully paid the preferential allowances according to Decree No. 05/2023/ND-CP, the Department of Health requests the units to balance financial resources to make a payment plan.

According to the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health, up to now, many units have implemented the payment of preferential allowances according to the above regulations. In particular, Le Van Viet Hospital has made payments for 3 quarters of a year.

The Department of Health affirms that it always pays attention, monitors, and regularly reminds and guides its affiliated units to pay preferential allowances in accordance with the provisions of Decree No. 05/2023/ND-CP, ensuring legitimate rights for medical staff.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/suc-khoe/vi-sao-mot-so-y-bac-si-chua-duoc-chi-tra-phu-cap-theo-nghi-dinh-05-20250718132658968.htm