Speaking at a Thursday seminar on seeking measures on medical waste treatment, Nguyen Thi Lien Huong, Head of the Ministry of Health’s Medical Environment Management Agency, said that Vietnam has more than 13,000 medical centres and hospitals. But, up to 5,200 lacked waste treatment systems or had facilities that failed to meet Ministry of Health’s standards, including many hospitals at both central and provincial levels.

40% of Vietnam’s medical centres violate waste treatment rules

Huong explained that the fund for hospitals mainly comes from the state budget; however, many localities have limited budgets or do not pay due attention to the problem. Meanwhile, many hospitals have waste treatment system but lacked qualified staff. 

Under the Ministry of Health’s goal, by 2020, 100% of medical centres and hospitals in Vietnam must meet waste treatment standards and regulations. 

The ministry is seeking the government’s approval for issuing policies on medical waste treatment. State-owned hospitals will be allowed to hire companies which specialise in waste treatment but the discharged waste must meet the ministry’s standards.

Earlier, according to a report issued by Medical Environment Management Agency late 2015, only 22 out of 35 central hospitals signed contracts with environment service companies on treating solid waste, while another 13 hospitals treated the waste themselves. Of these, six treated waste with incinerators and seven with chemicals.

The report showed that six central hospitals had no waste water treatment systems, namely Central Ophthalmology, Central Endocrinology, Hanoi Dental, Nursing - Rehabilitation Central, Central Traditional Medicine and Acupuncture Central. More seriously, most of the hospitals are located in the city centre.