Vietnam Health Ministry Starts Project to Build 8 Hospitals

The Vietnamese Ministry of Health started a project on Jan. 28 to build eight satellite hospitals of Bach Mai Hospital as part of efforts to ease the overload. They are Ha Dong Hospital in Hanoi and seven general hospitals in Lao Cai, Nghe An, Bac Ninh, Nam Dinh, Son La, Tuyen Quang and Hung Yen provinces. The project, the first of its kinds in Vietnam, is slated for completion in 2013, the Tuoi tre newspaper reported Friday, giving no detail on the project’s cost. This is part of the ministry’s plans to reduce the overload at central-level hospitals and meet the increasing demand of examination and treatment of people this year, health officials said. In 2009, the health sector provided medical check-ups for more than 115 million people and treatment for over 10 million others, up 110% and 112% from a year earlier respectively, the ministry reported. Vietnam now has nearly 13,500 state-run healthcare establishments, more than 100 private hospitals and over 35,000 private clinics.