Party General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng (front, right) and officials visit the hall of traditions of the 108 Military Central Hospital in Hà Nội on Monday. — VNA/VNS Photo Trí Dũng

HÀ NỘI — The Hà Nội-based 108 Military Central Hospital on Monday received the Hero of Labor title – the highest honour in Việt Nam – for its outstanding achievements as it celebrates its 70th anniversary.

Party General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng attended the celebration and planted a tree in the hospital campus to mark the event.

Speaking at the ceremony, Deputy Prime Minister Vũ Đức Đam applauded the achievements made by the hospital and appreciated the contributions of its staff over the last 70 years.

He said that the hospital’s medical workers and scientists had made great improvements.

“They not only mastered the latest medical techniques and equipment but also helped train and transfer the techniques to other hospitals,” Đam said.

In the hospital’s proud history, it was known recently as the first hospital in Việt Nam to conduct a lung transplant with the lung donated by a brain-dead donor and the first hospital in Southeast Asia to conduct an arm transplant with the two arms from a brain-dead donor in September 2020.

The first arm transplant with arms donated by a live donor in the world was also done at the military hospital in January 2020.

Deputy PM Đam also applauded the hospital for its innovation in management, making it not only a hospital for military personnel, a unit for military medical studies and training but also a prestigious healthcare provider for all people.

On this occasion, Đam called on the hospital managers and staff to further improve expertise, morality and ethics so that they could better maintain good characteristics of Vietnamese soldiers and Vietnamese medical workers.

The hospital was also expected to boost scientific studies, medical training and apply the latest medical technology in the world so that it could provide global-level healthcare services.

“The hospital must be well equipped to treat diseases during peace and prepared for emergencies like disasters or wars, particularly those with modern technologies,” Đam said.
 

Deputy Prime Minister Vũ Đức Đam presents the hospital with the “Labour Hero in the Renewal Period”. — VNA/VNS Photo Trí Dũng

Director of the hospital Mai Hồng Bàng said that Yên Trạch Central Hospital, the precursor of the 108 Central Military Hospital, was established in 1951 in Thái Nguyên Province – part of Việt Bắc (northernmost Việt Nam Base) to serve the General Staff Command, provide medical services to wounded soldiers as assigned by the Military Medical Department and first aid and treatment to residents in the military zone.

During the wars, despite a shortage of equipment and supplies, the hospital has managed to attain excellent results, especially in the treatment of wounded soldiers, contributing to the victory of the resistance war against French colonialists. In 1956, it was renamed 108 Central Military Hospital. In 1985, the hospital was conferred the title Hero of the People’s Armed Forces for its efforts during the American war.

“Generations of staff and medical workers have determined, united and innovated to overcome difficulties and challenges, making the hospital now one of five leading hospitals in the country,” Bàng said.

The hospital was also a prestigious medical research and training centre in Việt Nam and overseas, he said.

Until now, as many as 316 organ transplants were conducted at the hospital including transplantations of kidneys, livers, marrow and stem cells.

For the last seven years, the numbers of patients to the hospital increased gradually. In 2014, it received about 1,500-1,800 people daily while in 2020, the number of patients stayed at 4,500-5,500 people daily.

Besides regular medical examination and treatment, the hospital usually sends staff to remote and disadvantaged areas. For the last ten years, its staff gave free medical examination and medicine to nearly 120,000 people, free facial operations for about 3,000 children, free joint replacement surgeries for about 500 people and free eye operations for nearly 1,700 people.

The hospital also ensures military medical services in Song Tử Tây Island, Trường Sa (Spratly) islands. As many as 10,544 patients including soldiers and people living and working on the island received a medical examination and treatment from the hospital staff.

Notably, in 2014, the hospital’s Song Tử Tây healthcare unit helped a mother give birth to the first baby who was born on the island. The hospital also helps train medical teams who respond to emergencies or those who joined the United Nations’ level-2 Field Hospital in South Sudan.  VNS