Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung Nov 21 said that Vietnam will start construction of five large-scale hospitals in the capital city of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to ease the current severe overload. The construction of the hospitals, with a total 4,500 beds, would be completed in 2016, Mr. Dung said at a Q&A session of the ongoing sitting of the National Assembly (NA), the country’s legislative body, in Hanoi on Nov 21. The domestic medical sector is failing to meet the rising demand from locals, experts said, adding that it has only 20.5 sickbeds for every 10,000 local residents, versus the minimum level of 33/10,000 required by the World Health Organization. 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. (http://baodientu.chinhphu.vn [1] Nov 21, Thanh Nien –Young People Nov 21)
