HCM City has received approval from Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc to build three general hospitals in the city’s outlying districts worth VND5.7 trillion (USD259 million).

The hospitals will be located in Cu Chi, Hoc Mon and Thu Duc districts. 

  

Thu Duc General Hospital

Among those, Thu Duc General Hospital will have the biggest investment of VND1.91 trillion (USD87 million), followed by Hoc Mon General Hospital with VND1.89 trillion and Cu Chi General Hospital with VND1.85 trillion.

The projects which will use the municipal budget are expected to reduce 80-90 percent of patient overloading at city or central-level hospitals. The hospitals will include specialist wards and use modern medical equipment.

The hospitals are the city’s main projects of the Ministry of Health’s programme to reduce patient overcrowding.

HCM City has the highest ratio in the country of beds at 42 per 10,000 residents, but it still has faced overloading.

Many residents skip their local health facilities to go straight to central hospitals located in cities for check-ups and treatment, causing persistent overcrowding at these hospitals.

According to the Ministry of Health, up to 35.4% of patients who come to central hospitals for examinations could be served at provincial facilities, with 20% that could resolve issues at a district-level.