HCMC – The Ministry of Health on May 27 dismissed Vuong Van Tinh from the post of director of the National Psychiatric Hospital No. 1 in Hanoi for his mismanagement and for facilitating a patient of the hospital to set up a room there to use and trade illicit drugs.
According to the ministry, Tinh failed to fulfill his duties and responsibility, facilitating the violation of regulations on the prevention and control of drug trafficking and other social evils in the hospital, leading to serious consequences, the local media reported.
Nguyen Huy Quang, head of the Ministry of Health’s Legal Department, said the case was extremely serious, sparking public concern and damaging the prestige of the Ministry of Health as well as the entire healthcare sector.
In addition to Tinh, three deputy directors of the hospital—Nguyen Tuan Dai, Le Ngoc Tu and Nguyen Manh Phat—were reprimanded and criticized as they had not closely checked and supervised compliance with the hospital’s rules.
On March 20, the Hanoi Police Department raided the room of Nguyen Xuan Quy, a patient of the hospital and seized 6.1 kilograms of drugs.
Quy even equipped the room with loudspeakers and laser lamps and made it soundproof to facilitate others to use drugs. Quy and his accomplices also invited their friends and staff of the hospital to the room to use the drugs.
The Hanoi Police Department has filed charges against Quy and five others, including Nguyen Anh Vu, an employee of the hospital’s rehabilitation and traditional medicine department.
The Ministry of Health has chosen Nguyen Tuan Hung, deputy head of the Department of Organization and Personnel, to run the hospital before a new head is picked.
