Ho Chi Minh City has most dense population in the country; hence, medical facilities in the city take care of not only residents here but also inhabitants from other provinces.
40 percent of patients flocking to medical institutes in HCMC last year were from all areas in the country and the city health sector had made concerted efforts to increase treatment quality and reduce overloading in hospitals, reported health officials at a meeting on people healthcare mission held in February 19.
As per the city Department of Health, hospitals in the city received nearly 40 million patients in 2015; 1,495,360 of them are inpatients. Health sector in the city focused in reducing overloading in hospitals by setting up maternity wards in medical facilities in districts. Additionally, district hospitals are trying to improve facility, training and increasing more personnel and the number of beds in hospitals surged to 1,323.
Along with this, the city established satellite hospitals in district hospitals and doctors of major hospitals took turns to provide examination and treatment in 12 satellite hospitals. Medical workers from big hospitals also provide training and transferred skills to their counterparts in district hospitals.
They directly examined and treated patients as well as performed operations in satellite hospitals to avoiding taking patients to big hospitals reducing overloading as planned.
For instance, Trauma and Orthopedics Hospital set up a satellite hospital in the General Hospital in Tan Phu District with 50 beds to provide physiotherapy for patient transferred fro the Trauma and Orthopedics Hospital.
The Children Hospital No1 has its satellite hospital in general hospitals in Tan Phu and Binh Tan districts. Meantime, Tumor Hospital built its satellite hospital in the District 2 General Hospital with 150 beds and Children hospital No.2 also has a satellite one in the hospital with 50 beds. Its has seen more and more patients come to these satellite hospitals gradually.
Implementing the project on sending medical workers from big hospitals to facilities in districts, the city Department of Health concentrated to send physicians from major hospitals to small ones in an effort to raise treatment quality in small hospitals in districts and reduce crowded ones in central districts.
In addition, to carrying the project No.1816 to transfer operation skills to small hospitals, the city has sent 258 physicians from 18 central hospitals to teach 226 skills to their counterparts in 23 cities and provinces across the country.
Moreover, the city also implemented the project of Family Doctor. 20 out of 23 district hospitals have room for family doctors; yet the project in pilot phase so it has some shortcomings which need to be adjusted
