The Ho Chi Minh City’s Health Department Inspectorate has announced the result of inspections at Binh Dan Hospital and Trauma and Orthopedics Hospital: both health facilities have committed many violations, causing big monetary losses for the State budget.

>> Hospital director suspended for issuing false test results>> Hospital issues same test results to 2,000 patients Health inspectors reported that Binh Dan Hospital caused a loss of over VND3 billion (US$144,000) while the Trauma and Orthopedics Hospital committed fraud related to X-ray films among other violations, the damage of which is not yet identified. Specifically, Binh Dan Hospital has violated regulations on State budget management and use. The hospital’s management has allowed overseas trips by its staff using funds from the State budget; more than 70 percent of its officials have taken working trips overseas without approval of the department and the city People’s Committee.

Regarding accounting and financial activities, the hospital has not complied with the Health Ministry’s regulations on joint venture and association with other entities, causing a loss in revenue of VND250 million ($11,800). A number of officials at the hospital wasted more than VND2 billion ($98,000) purchasing medical equipment for their own use, the majority of which hasn’t been used at all. After the inspection, the Inspectorate requested that those who had violated regulations must return more than VND3 billion to the State budget. Former director of the hospital Nguyen Chi Hung was ordered to pay various expenses, over VND1 billion higher than those of the past four years. Hung must be held responsible for his wrongdoings as well as for all hospital violations, inspectors said.   

Fraud related to X-ray films The Inspectorate also discovered serious violations at the Trauma and Orthopedics Hospital in regards to the management and use of X-ray films. It was discovered that hospital workers were reporting a false number of used films in order to appropriate money. Inspectors have seized more than 6,600 X-ray films as evidence, adding that the hospital suffered a loss of 15,000 X-ray films due to other reasons.

Meanwhile, many doctors used their working hours to conduct surgeries on patients at other health facilities to make extra money.

Regarding the somewhat complicated X-ray film violations, the Health Department’s Inspectorate proposed that the city’s Inspectorate launch an investigation to clarify the violations and identify all those who were involved as well as the exact amount of money appropriated. As previously reported, an unbelievable case was uncovered in August in which a State-owned hospital in Hanoi issued 1,000 test results randomly to 2,000 different patients, resulting in several patients having the same result. For his wrongdoings in the scandal, Nguyen Tri Liem has been suspended from the post of director of Hoai Duc General Hospital. Six other officials at the hospital were also suspended for investigation.Tuoi Tre reporters found that nearly all of the patients to whom the false test results were issued have been covered by health insurance. Pham Luong Son, head of the Board for Implementation of Health Policies under the Vietnam Social Insurance Agency, commented that the only purpose of such acts was to appropriate the money to be paid by the Health Insurance Agency for tests that were not actually carried out by the hospital.