HCM City’s Oncology Hospital No. 2 in District 9 opened in October last year. The city plans to build new hospitals and upgrade infrastructure of several others in the next five years. – Photo thanhnien.vn

HCM CITY – HCM City plans to complete a number of key hospital infrastructure projects in the next five years.

The city’s medical sector will build new infrastructure for three general hospitals in Hóc Môn, Củ Chi and Thủ Đức districts, and will build or renovate infrastructure for three international-standard general and specialist hospitals: Nhân dân Gia Định, An Bình and Bình Dân.

At Bình Chánh District’s Tân Kiên – Bình Chánh Hi-Tech medical cluster, second branches will be built for Phạm Ngọc Thạch University of Medicine, the 115 emergency centre, and Bình Dân Hospital. A new blood bank will also be built.

Over the last five years, HCM City’s medical sector has completed 52 hospital projects and purchased new equipment. As many as 42 other projects are being carried out.

Many new hospitals and medical centres with modern infrastructure have been put into service, including HCM City Children’s Hospital, Oncology Hospital No 2, and the city’s Centre for Disease Control and Prevention.

According to the city’s Department of Health, the number of hospital visits in 2020 was around three times higher than in 2010.

However, 2020 saw a 20.8 per cent decrease in the number of visits compared to 2019 due to COVID-19. This was the first time a year-on-year drop in hospital visits had occurred over the last 10 years. – VNS