The Ministry of Health is calling for investments in building small hospitals across Vietnam by 2020 to ease the severe hospital overload and to better medical cares for local residents. The capital is expected to come from the state budget, official development assistance (ODA) and other legal sources. As planned, 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 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. (Dau Tu – Investment May 8 p4)
