Conditions for assurance of nutrition operations in hospital in Vietnam

Conditions for assurance of nutrition operations in hospital in Vietnam (Internet image)

Regarding this issue, LawNet would like to answer as follows:

1. Rules for hospital nutrition in Vietnam

- Hospitals must organize their nutrition operations in connection with their examination and treatment operations.

- Patients visiting a hospital for outpatient examination and/or treatment shall be screened for nutritional risk factors; and those visiting for inpatient examination and/or treatment shall have their nutritional status screened and assessed.

- Patients shall be given a diet suitable for their nutritional status and illness.

- The doctor in charge of a patient and doctors of the nutrition department shall decide the patient’s diet.

- Nutrition personnel must be professionally qualified for their assigned tasks.

(Article 2 of Circular 18/2020/TT-BYT)

2. Conditions for assurance of nutrition operations in hospital in Vietnam

Conditions for assurance of nutrition operations in hospital include:

(1) Organizational structure for nutrition

- Organization of nutrition operations:

Based on the organizational and operational regulations of each hospital, the nutrition department or nutrition unit, which is a part of the clinical block, shall be established in accordance with the following regulations:

+ Hospitals with at least 100 beds must establish a nutrition department. Every 100 beds must have at least 01 nutrition specialist.

+ Hospitals with less than 100 beds must have a nutrition unit or full-time nutritionist if unable to establish a nutrition department.

- The nutrition department shall comprise:

+ A nutrition advisory unit

+ A nutrition therapy unit

+ A meal processing and provision unit

If there is no meal processing and provision unit, the hospital must sign a contract on meal processing in the hospital with an outside organization or individual, which shall be placed under the professional and food safety supervision of the nutrition department.

(2) Nutrition specialists

- Head of the nutrition department must be a full-time tenured employee and meet the following requirements:

+ Is a general medicine doctor or general practitioner holding a certificate of at least 6 months of training in clinical nutrition.

+ Is a nutritionist holding a bachelor’s degree or higher if no one is qualified for the requirements mentioned in Point a herein.

- Persons in charge of nutrition therapy must be a general medicine doctor or general practitioner holding a clinical nutrition training certificate or nutritionist.

(3) Facilities for nutrition operations

- Hospitals must provide facilities for nutrition operations as follows:

+ Nutrition department or nutrition unit

+ Meal processing area and eating room must be located away from the morgue, waste retention area, laundry area and isolation area for infectious diseases and fulfill regulatory requirements concerning food safety.

- Milk preparation areas of pediatrics and neonatology departments must have instructions on milk preparation; hot and cold water; clean water, sinks and hand wash liquid.

(Chapter III of Circular 18/2020/TT-BYT)

3. Responsibilities of nutrition specialist titles in Vietnam

- Head of the nutrition department or nutrition unit shall:

+ Organize fulfillment of the nutrition department’s duties provided for in Article 9 herein and take responsibility before the hospital director for organization of hospital nutrition.

+ Manage, inspect, supervise, expedite and direct compliance with professional regulations on nutrition and food safety in their hospital.

+ Inspect and request clinical departments to strictly adopt diets suitable for the nutritional status and illness of patients. Report violations against regulations on hospital nutrition committed by individuals and departments to the hospital director.

+ Request a nutrition service provider to stop its service if it commits a violation against food safety regulations and report to the hospital director for timely handling.

+ Participate in the drug and treatment council, scientific research council and other relevant councils of the hospital as assigned by the hospital director.

+ Perform other tasks assigned by the hospital director.

- Nutrition specialists shall:

+ Examine, give advice on and treat nutrition-related diseases using diets suitable for the nutritional status and illness of inpatients and outpatients.

+ Cooperate with in-charge doctors and doctors of the nutrition department in examining and giving advice to patients, giving indications for cases suffering from nutritional diseases or requiring nutrition therapy, or advising in-charge doctors on diet indication.

+ Develop and adopt diets suitable for the nutritional status and illness of patients.

+ Consult with clinical departments to make nutritional interventions upon request.dd) Inspect and supervise nutrition operations and diet adoption according to regulations.

+ Fulfill duties concerning raising the awareness of nutrition and food safety of people in the hospital.

+ Perform other tasks assigned by the department head.

(Article 12 of Circular 18/2020/TT-BYT)

Diem My

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