Vietnam province prevents 6 doctors from working for breaching talent investment deal

In a statement sent to health authorities in other cities and provinces, the Binh Duong department said the six doctors had been paid to take training courses or to work for the province. However, the six doctors breached the contracts they signed with the province and quit jobs earlier than pledged.

The identities of the doctors, aged 30-32, are clearly stated in the document sent by the department.

The document said that two of the doctors had been funded to study at Can Tho University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Can Tho City in the Mekong Delta to improve their expertise; the other four had received payments in line with the province's talent attraction program.

Among those who had been paid to work in the province, one had received VND420 million (US$17,788), one got VND400 million and the other two got VND100 million each.

Each of the doctors had signed contracts to work at Binh Duong General Hospital and Dau Tieng District’s Medical Center for 6-10 years.

However, all of them quit working before their contracts reached the due date.

Although they had quit, none of them has compensated the province, according to the Binh Duong Health Department.

In its statement released Thursday, the department advised all healthcare facilities, either public or private, not to recruit the six doctors on the list.

Huynh Minh Chin, deputy director of the department, told VnExpress said the document is "only aimed at warning" others about those doctors.

"The statement also reminded those doctors of their responsibilities with the state and the healthcare sector," said Chin.

He added that if those doctors failed to compensate the province, the department will sue them.

Lawyer Nguyen Duc Chanh said it is not "suitable" for the Health Department to tell others not to recruit the six doctors as they have the right to work and earn money as long as they do not violate the law.

Whether Binh Duong can sue the doctors or not depends on the terms of the contracts signed by the province and those doctors, he said.