Doctors from HCM City’s leading hospitals and medical staff from the Côn Đảo Military-Civilian Medical Centre perform the first laparoscopic surgery on a patient on the island in September 2025. — Photo courtesy of the Department of Health

HCM CITY — HCM City's People’s Hospital 115 will open a second facility in Côn Đảo to provide more stable, long-term healthcare services on the island, replacing a rotating-doctor model used by HCM City hospitals over the past year.

HCM City’s Department of Health has sent doctors from city hospitals to Côn Đảo on rotation to expand access to specialised medical services for local residents in this remote island.

However, the model has mainly provided support through periodic deployments and has not yet created stable local capacity for diagnosis and treatment, according to Tăng Chí Thượng, director of the department.

Under a plan being developed by the department, People’s Hospital 115 will establish its second facility in Côn Đảo, deploying medical staff, expertise and appropriate medical techniques to become the island’s core healthcare provider.

The facility will also work with specialised hospitals in HCM City to receive professional support when needed.

The second facility will serve as a medical “rear base” for the Côn Đảo Special Zone’s health station, which will focus on primary care, chronic disease management and community health monitoring.

Patients requiring more specialised intervention will receive support from specialists at HCM City’s leading hospitals.

Obstetrics and paediatrics will be among the priorities, with two other public hospitals in HCM City – Hùng Vương Hospital and Children’s Hospital 1 – working alongside People’s Hospital 115 on staffing, training and technology transfer.

In the longer term, the second facility is expected to establish departments of obstetrics and paediatrics.

Other specialties and medical techniques will be introduced based on local needs, with priority given to conditions that can be safely diagnosed and treated on the island.

The plan is intended not simply to add another hospital on the island but to create a continuous healthcare system, Thượng said.

Under the model, the local health station would provide primary care, People’s Hospital 115 would handle treatment, and HCM City’s specialised hospitals would provide higher-level professional support.

“Initially, supporting healthcare in Côn Đảo mainly meant sending doctors to the island. The next step is to bring the capacity of the entire city healthcare system to the island,” Thượng said.

The new model is expected to give both residents and visitors greater confidence in accessing medical care in Côn Đảo, which is geographically distant from the mainland.

People’s Hospital 115 is one of HCM City’s major general hospitals under the Department of Health and serves as a tertiary referral centre in several specialised fields. — VNS