Senior Lieutenant General Hoàng Xuân Chiến, Deputy Minister of National Defence grants the decision to establish Việt Nam’s first International Trauma Life Support (ITLS) Chapter at Military Hospital 175 during the ceremony on Monday. Photo courtesy of Military Hospital 175

HCM CITY — Military Hospital 175 in HCM City under the Ministry of National Defence on Monday inaugurated Việt Nam’s first-ever International Trauma Life Support (ITLS) Chapter and the fifth in Southeast Asia.

Speaking at a ceremony to present the certification of the ITLS Chapter, Senior Lieutenant General Phùng Sĩ Tấn, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Việt Nam People’s Army, said, “With the establishment of this ITLS Chapter, Việt Nam will be even more proactive in training and certifying our medical units involved in peacekeeping operations, as well as our military and civilian medical personnel.”

“This is in compliance with UN-regulated requirements, and entails the training of internationally-certified instructors. The establishment of Việt Nam’s ITLS Chapter will not only improve Việt Nam’s own military medical training capacity, but also open up opportunities to provide training for peacekeepers from other countries in the region,” he said.

He ordered agencies and units under the command of the Ministry of National Defence to further assist and support Military Hospital 175 in the operation of the ITLS Chapter as well as in the establishment of the second ITLS Chapter in Military Hospital 103 in Hà Nội.

Major General Trần Quốc Việt, director of Military Hospital 175, said all personnel participating in UN Peacekeeping missions must possess an emergency trauma care certificate recognised internationally and by the UN.

The establishment of an ITLS Chapter will allow Việt Nam to proactively provide training and certifications for Việt Nam’s medical personnel participation in Peacekeeping operations, as required by the UN. Moreover, it would allow other military and civilian medical staff to participate in the training and obtain ITLS certificates.

Military Hospital 175 is a strategic medical unit that serves as the highest level military hospital for the Việt Nam People's Army in the Southern region. It provides essential training for military medicine professionals in the area. — VNS