HCM CITY — All 23 hospitals in HCM City’s districts this year will have enough doctors who can take turns providing technical assistance to medical staff at health stations in communes and wards, according to the city’s Department of Health.

Speaking at a meeting yesterday to review health sector activities of the first six months of the year, Dr Nguyễn Tấn Bỉnh, the department’s director, said the aim was to raise trust among local residents in wards and communes.  

Doctors at local health stations would receive assistance from doctors at district-level hospitals, he said.

This would improve the quality of primary health services at grassroots-level health facilities, which has been required by the Ministry of Health.

Each year, Phạm Ngọc Thạch University of Medicine provides 600 doctors for the city’s health sector, which has helped to reduce the doctor shortage.

The city aims to have at least two doctors working at each health station by 2020.

Currently, only half of the city’s total 319 health stations have two doctors.

According to Bỉnh, the department has instructed leaders at city-level hospitals to send doctors to outlying districts of Bình Chánh and Cần Giờ to improve the quality of healthcare services there.

For example, Củ Chi District Hospital in outlying Củ Chi District has received assistance since 2016 and, as a result, has been able to attract more patients.

The city’s health department has set up kiosks at hospitals where people can comment or complain via special software about health check-ups and treatment quality.

The complaints and opinions are sent to hospitals’ leaders and the Department of Health for consideration.  

Nguyễn Thị Thoa, deputy head of the department’s medical affairs division, said the kiosk system had been set up at 53 public hospitals.  

“After receiving complaints and opinions through the system, many hospitals have upgraded facilities, added human resources, changed procedures in health examination and treatment, and improved service attitudes,” Thoa said.

Toilets at hospitals, for example, had become cleaner, she said.

IT application

The health department will also continue applying IT as part of its management and administrative reform.

It is using software to provide guidance in financial autonomy for public hospital directors, and help leaders manage their budgets. 

The department is also using IT to count the number of patients and manage human resources.

In December, it is expected to issue an application that will allow residents to search for health facilities best suited for their illness.

Many hospitals, health stations and health centres have set up their own website containing information about health issues. The websites can also be found through the department’s web portal.—VNS