Vietnam Health Ministry Likely to Kick-start Small Hospital Project in Q3

The Ministry of Health plans to kick off a project in the third quarter of this year to build dozens of small hospitals across Vietnam in a move to ease the severe hospital overload at public health facilities nationwide. Local hospitals are finalizing the project before submitting it to the ministry for approval, said Tran Quy Tuong, deputy head of the ministry’s Health Examination and Treatment Management Department. The ministry is also calling for investments in the project. The capital is expected to come from the state budget, official development assistance (ODA) and other sources.  Under the project, the ministry will upgrade 45 provincial hospitals into satellite hospitals of 14 specialized hospitals, mainly in the southern and central regions, from 2013 to 2015. The satellite hospital model will be built in localities such as Ba Ria-Vung Tau province, Lam Dong, Binh Duong, Dong Nai and Tien Giang, Dong Nai, Soc Trang, Long An and Khanh Hoa provinces. The health facilities will focus on oncology, heart trauma, obstetrics and pediatrics and other fields that have been experiencing patient overload at public hospitals. Vietnam needs an estimated VND36.7 trillion ($1.75 billion) to upgrade overcrowded hospitals and build new ones to end the serious hospital overload at state-run hospitals in Hanoi, Hue and Ho Chi Minh City by 2015. (Tin Tuc – News June 24 p6)