ĐÀ NẴNG — Hospitals in Đà Nẵng have been overloaded because patients from neighbouring provinces have flocked into the city for medical examinations and treatment, reported online newspaper vov.vn.

The number of patients coming to the city for treatment has been increasing steadily in recent years, partly confirming the quality and prestige of the health sector in the city. However, overcrowding has also increased, putting pressure on some hospitals in the city.

Living in Nghĩa Hành District of neighbouring Quảng Ngãi Province, about 100km from Đà Nẵng, Nguyễn Thị Thúy Nga and her family travel to the city for treatment when they are sick and for periodic health checks.

Nga said that in Quảng Ngãi there were daily shuttle buses to bring people to Đà Nẵng’s hospitals.

“It was so convenient; I just needed to make a phone call. The bus service picked me up at home and released passengers at the hospital gates,” Nga said.

“There are about 50 to 60 people going to the city everyday,” she said.

Nga said that recently, patients from other provinces have overcrowded hospitals and increased wait times.

Although going to Đà Nẵng for medical treatment is costly, people accept the price because they trust the city’s doctors and medical equipment.

The Đà Nẵng Peadiatrics and Obstetrics Hospital has received an increasing number of patients from other localities with an average annual increase of about 25 per cent.

Dr. Nguyễn Út, director of Đà Nẵng Tumor Hospital, said his hospital has always been overloaded although it had increased the number of beds to 600 from the initial design of 500.

The hospital has even had to put beds in doctors’ working areas, he said.

Patients from other cities and provinces accounted for 70 per cent of all patients at Đà Nẵng hospitals, the doctor said.

Đặng Việt Dũng, vice chairman of the municipal People’s Committee, asked the healthcare sector to record the number of patients to set up plans to reduce overloads.

The healthcare sector should focus on investing in clinical facilities, building satellite hospitals, promoting preventive medicine, unifying treatment protocols among hospitals in other localities, reforming administrative procedures and the application of information technology, he said. — VNS