Responsibilities Assignment of Healthcare Facilities in Response to Infectious Diseases and Epidemics

The assignment of responsibilities for responding to diseases and infectious diseases at medical facilities is guided in Article 12 of Circular 17/2019/TT-BYT, specifically for each of the following cases:

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- For all group C infectious diseases; group B infectious diseases with low incidence (lower than the average incidence of the same period of the week or month over the past 3 years, excluding data for epidemics) and no deaths: The commune-level Health Station (hereinafter referred to as the commune) proactively and responsibly advises the Commune People's Committee to organize the implementation of response activities to prevent and combat diseases and infectious diseases in the area.- For group B infectious diseases with high incidence in the commune or district (incidence exceeding the average incidence of the same period of the week or month over the past 3 years, excluding data for epidemics) or with fatalities: The district Health Center proactively and responsibly advises the District People's Committee to organize the implementation of response activities to prevent and combat diseases and infectious diseases in the area.- For all group A infectious diseases; group B infectious diseases with 2 or more fatalities suspected to be caused by the same disease or the same pathogen within the same district within a month: The provincial Center for Disease Control (hereinafter referred to as the province) proactively and responsibly recommends the Department of Health to advise the Provincial People's Committee on organizing the implementation of response activities to prevent and combat diseases and infectious diseases in the area.

The International Health Quarantine Center, the provincial Center for Disease Control with the function of international health quarantine are responsible for investigating, reporting, and implementing response measures to prevent and combat diseases, and infectious diseases at border areas. Additionally, the infection control unit at medical examination and treatment facilities is directly responsible for monitoring, investigating, reporting, assessing the situation, and evaluating the risk of infectious diseases at medical examination and treatment facilities, advising unit leaders, and cooperating with the infection control network at relevant departments and units to deploy disease prevention and control measures; simultaneously supporting lower levels in response to diseases and infectious diseases.

In cases where the ability to respond to infectious diseases exceeds the capacity of the unit or locality, units and localities report and request support from higher levels and direct managing levels to mobilize resources for infectious disease prevention and control activities.

Institutes affiliated with the preventive health system, hospitals under the Ministry of Health regularly monitor, assess the situation, and evaluate the risk of infectious diseases to promptly support lower levels in responding to infectious diseases. In cases where the response capacity is exceeded, the institutes and hospitals report to the Ministry of Health for direction and resource mobilization from localities, departments, sectors, other central units, or international organizations for support.

See the full text of the regulation in Circular 17/2019/TT-BYT effective from September 01, 2019.

Thu Ba

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