New facility at the Oncology Hospital in District 9. VNS Photo Gia Lộc

Gia Lộc-Đinh Hằng

HCM CITY— Many public hospitals in HCM City have added spacious facilities with modern equipment that have resulted in improved healthcare for patients.

On Monday, the HCM City Oncology Hospital opened a new facility in District 9 to help reduce overcrowding at its facility in Bình Thạnh District. Investment in the new 1,000-bed facility was more than VNĐ5.8 trillion (US$250 million).

The Oncology Hospital’s new facility is equipped with many modern machines used by hospitals in other countries in the Asian region.

Dr Diệp Bảo Tuấn, the hospital’s deputy director, said: “In the beginning, the new facility will only admit outpatients, and people needing hospitalisation will be sent to the facility in Bình Thạnh District by ambulance."

Later, the Bình Thạnh facility will be developed as a centre for screening and outpatient treatment.

The new facility has recruited 500 doctors, nurses and other personnel.  

Speaking at the launching ceremony held on Monday, Nguyễn Tấn Bỉnh, head of the city Department of Health, said that many of the city's 123 hospitals had been overcrowded for many years.

The Oncology Hospital each year treats nearly 1 million outpatients and 10,000 inpatients. Although the facility in Bình Thạnh District has been upgraded, it cannot meet demand.  

According to Bỉnh, besides modern machines, high-quality healthcare officials will provide better healthcare services to cancer patients.

Nguyễn Thành Phong, chairman of the city People’s Committee, said the city had had only one oncology hospital since 1966. 

In the 2020-2025 period, the city plans to turn many hospitals into professional medical centres in the southern region and set up health examination and screening centres with advanced technologies to reduce the number of Vietnamese people going abroad for treatment, he said.

The Oncology Hospital in District 9 is equipped with modern machines used in the treatment of cancer. VNS Photo Gia Lộc

On June 8, Hùng Vương Hospital launched a new building for departments of disease examination, obstetrics, gynaecology, diagnostic imaging, infertility, and others.

For the building, the hospital invested in testing department with an automatic system and high-quality operating theatres, as well as in a department of medical genetics with modern genetic testing machines.

The facility will help reduce patient overcrowding at its existing facility and shorten waiting times.

The 11-floor building covering 28.327 square metres cost VNĐ345 billion, with 58 per cent from the city’s budget.

The building will also be used for training and research.

The hospital will continue to upgrade its existing facility to become a modern centre for care of newborns, especially very early preterm babies and those with disease.

It will also set up a centre to treat diseases of pregnant women.

The hospital aims to become a public hospital meeting international standards in reproductive health services for women in the southern region. 

The HCM City Children's Hospital 1 is building a cardiology centre, neonatology centre and a building for health examinations and surgery to meet patient demand.

The total capital for facilities and equipment for the three structures is estimated to be VNĐ2 trillion (US$86 million). The buildings of 13-15 storeys each are expected to be completed by the end of 2021.

The hospital, which is following the city's move to offer more facilities for medical specialties, said the new facilities would improve treatment quality.

In July last year, the hospital opened a new five-storey building for inpatient treatment after eight months of construction. The building replaced another built in 1956 which was in disrepair.

According to the city Department of Health, the city has 96 ongoing projects that include new facilities, upgrade of existing facilities, and purchases of new machines for hospitals in the 2015-2020 period. Of these, 54 projects are finished. The rest are under construction.

The beautiful City Children’s Hospital meeting international standards is becoming a popular choice for people in the city’s western region for the examination and treatment of disease, after three years of operation. It has helped reduce overcrowding at Children’s Hospitals 1 and 2.  

In July, the City Children's Hospital reached a milestone by successfully performing major surgery on 16-month-old conjoined twins.

The private sector has contributed to upgrading and building new facilities for public hospitals as the city’s budget is limited, according to the Department of Health.

Last year, the city People’s Committee approved a public-private partnership for eight projects in the health sector.

Official financial autonomy policies have also created favourable conditions for public hospitals to invest in modern facilities and machines.

Thủ Đức District Hospital, for instance, has developed its facilities and machines as well as human resources thanks to autonomy policies. The hospital ranks as a city-level hospital because of its quality. It uses many advanced techniques in treatment.

As of September, the city had 45 out of 55 public hospitals carrying out full autonomy in regular expenditures, saving more than VNĐ1.1 trillion for the city’s budget. VNS