CIRCULAR

Defining the functions and tasks of health stations of communes, wards and townships

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Pursuant to the Government's Decree No. 63/2012/ND-CP dated August 31, 2012, defining the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Ministry of Health;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 117/2014/ND-CP dated December 08, 2014, on commune-level healthcare;

At the proposal of the Director of the Personnel and Organization Department;

The Minister of Health hereby promulgates the Circular defining the functions and tasks of health stations of communes, wards and townships.

Article 1. Functions

1. Health stations of communes, wards and townships (hereinafter collectively referred to as commune-level health stations) shall provide initial healthcare services for citizens in their respective communes.

2. Commune-level health station has its own seal and head office in service of its specialized and professional operations.

            Article 2. Tasks

            1. Carrying out technical and professional activities:

            a) Regarding preventive health:

            - Carrying out technical and professional activities in terms of vaccination;

            - Monitoring and taking technical measures for the prevention and control of communicable diseases, HIV/AIDS, non-communicable diseases, idiopathic diseases; timely detecting and reporting epidemics;

             - Providing professional and technical guidelines on environmental hygiene, factors likely affecting the community health; preventing accidents, building a safe community, school health and community nutrition in accordance with law provisions;

- Participating in the inspection, supervision and implementation of activities related to food safety in communes in accordance with law provisions.

b) Regarding medical examination and treatment; combination of traditional medicine in disease prevention and treatment:

- Providing first aid;

- Organizing medical examination and treatment, rehabilitation according to the technical division and scope of professional activities in accordance with law provisions;

- Combining traditional medicine and modern medicine in medical examination and treatment by drug and non-drug methods; applying, inheriting experience, effective remedies and treatment methods, conserving precious medicinal plants in the localities;

- Participating in prequalification examination for military service.

c) Regarding reproductive health:

- Deploying professional and technical activities related to pregnancy management; assisted delivery and normal delivery;

- Performing professional techniques in maternal and child healthcare according to the technical division and scope of professional activities in accordance with law provisions.

d) Regarding essential drug supply:

- Managing assigned sources of drugs and vaccines according to regulations;

- Providing guidelines for safe, rational and effective use of drugs;

- Developing a model herbal garden suitable to the actual conditions in localities.

dd) Regarding community health management:

- Implementing the management of the health of households, the elderly, persons suffering from communicable diseases, idiopathic diseases, non-communicable diseases, and chronic diseases;

- Coordinating in managing school health.

             e) Regarding health communication and education:

             - Providing information related to diseases and epidemics; vaccination; issues likely affecting the community health and propagandizing prevention and control measures;

              - Organizing the propaganda, consultancy and mobilization of the citizens’ participation in providing healthcare, taking care of and improving the citizens’ health, population and family planning.

              2. Providing professional guidelines for village health workers:

              a) Proposing the health centers of districts, towns, provincial cities and cities under centrally-run cities (hereinafter collectively referred to as district-level health centers) the recruitment and management of village health workers;

              b) Providing guidance on performing technical and professional tasks for village health workers in providing initial healthcare service and village midwives in accordance with law provisions;

             c) Organizing the periodic briefings and participating in professional training and retraining courses for village health workers as decentralized.

3. Coordinating with relevant agencies in performing the population - family planning tasks; providing the family planning services according to technical division and law provisions.

4. Participating in the inspection of private medical and pharmaceutical practice activities and services that pose a risk to people’s health:

a) Participating and coordinating with competent agencies in inspection and supervision of private medical and pharmaceutical practice activities and services that pose a risk to people’s health in communes;

b) Detecting and reporting state management agencies of medical activities that violate law regulations, establishments and individuals failing to provide goods and services that meet requirements on food safety and medical environment in communes.

             5. The Commune-level Standing Health Care Committee for protection, care and improvement of people's health in the locality:

             a) Developing the plan on health care activities, identifying health problems, selecting priority health problems in the locality, submitting them to the Chairperson of the commune-level People's Committee for approval and acting as the focal point for implementation of the approved plan;

             b) Developing the plan on implementing technical and professional activities related to provide initial healthcare service for local citizens, submitting it to the Director of district-level Health Centers for approval and implementation of the approved plan.

6. Combining military-civil medicine forces according to the actual situation in the localities.

7. Taking responsibility for managing human resources, financial sources and assets of units in accordance with assignment, decentralization and law provisions.

8. Complying with statistical and reporting regimes as prescribed by law.

9. Performing other tasks as assigned by the Director of district-level Health Centers and Chairpersons of commune-level people’s Committees.

Based on conditions and capacity of each district-level Health Center or health station, proposing the Directors of Departments of Health of provinces and centrally-run cities to permit local health stations to perform specific tasks related to medical examination and treatment as specified at Point b, provide reproductive health service as specified at Point c Clause 1 and perform other tasks mentioned in Clause 6 of this Article to meet the citizens’ need for healthcare in accordance with regulations prescribed by the law and the Ministry of Health.

Article 3. Organization and personnel

            1. Organization:

            a) A commune-level health station consists of a Head and Deputy Head;

            b) Public employees working for the commune-level health station shall take responsibility for their fields as assigned by the Head of health station, ensuring to fulfill all tasks of the health station in accordance with Article 2 of this Circular;

c) The appointment and relief of duty of the Head and Deputy Head of a health station, and the rotation and transfer of public employees working at the health station shall be decided by the Director of the district-level Health Center according to the competence and management decentralization in the locality.

2. Personnel: The structure of occupational titles and the number of each occupational title working at the commune-level health station shall be determined on the basis of actual needs, workload and characteristics and socio-economic conditions of the commune-level administrative division where the health station is located.

Article 4. Relationship   

1. Commune-level health station is a medical unit under the district-level Health Center, subject to the comprehensive management and direct management of the Director of the District Health Center.

2. Commune-level health station is subject to the leadership and direction of the Chairperson of commune-level People's Committee in performing tasks in accordance with law provisions.

3. Commune-level health station has a coordination relationship with commune-level socio-political organizations and the village head in organizing and implementing healthcare activities for people in the locality.

Article 5. Effect

1. This Circular takes effect on December 14, 2015.

2. Regulations on functions and tasks of the commune-level health stations in the Circular No. 08/TT- LB dated April 20, 1995 of the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, the Department of Organization and Personnel of the Government, guiding the organization and policy for grassroots-level healthcare, ceases to be effective from the effective date of this Circular.

            Article 6. Implementation responsibility

1. People's Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities shall direct the Departments of Health to implement this Circular in their respective localities.

2. Any problems, difficulties or issues arising in the course of implementation should be promptly reported to the Ministry of Health (via the Personnel and Organization Department) for consideration and settlement./.