During his meeting on Thursday with Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Kim Tien, Da Nang People’s Committee Chairman Huynh Duc Tho affirmed that over recent years the city has paid special attention to enhancing the quality of medical examinations and treatment at its local medical establishments.  Also, the focus has been on upgrading or expanding these establishments to reduce patient overload there.

Chairman Tho and …

According to Director of the municipal Department of Health Ngo Thi Kim Yen, the city has a total of around 7,300 hospital beds with over 1,700 doctors.  The local health sector reaches the rate of 68 hospital beds/10,000 people and 16.08 doctors/10,000 people, and double the national target of 25 hospital beds/10,000 people and 8.2 doctors/10,000 people.

She added that the quality of medical examinations and treatment at public hospitals has been enhanced.  Patients can access modern medical examinations and treatment techniques at the city’s hospitals instead of visiting large hospitals in Ha Noi and Ho Chi Minh City.

Between January and August, local medical establishments received a total of over 2.49 million outpatients, up 8.54% against the same period last year, and 747,000 of whom came from other localities nationwide.  In addition, all medical stations at ward and commune levels have met national criteria for healthcare services.  Over 96% of local residents have health insurance cards.

Director Yen also asked the Ministry of Health to give financial assistance to the city to upgrade some of its ward and commune-level medical stations, and build a Haematology and Blood Transfusion Centre in order to meet the demand of the local hospitals for blood to use in general treatment and emergencies.

… Minister Tien speaking at the meeting

Minister Tien praised the Da Nang authorities for their great efforts in gaining many remarkable achievements in local healthcare sector.  She pledged that her Ministry would provide financial aid for the city to build the Haematology and Blood Transfusion Centre.

She stressed the need for relevant local agencies to develop medical tourism, implementing the ‘family doctors’ project, and encourage local medical workers to enhance their friendly, polite attitude and behaviour towards their patients.

More effective measures should be taken to promote disease prevention and control, and to ensure food safety and hygiene in preparation for the forthcoming APEC Economic Leaders’ Week which will be held in the city in November.  In addition, some specialised ambulances will be sent from Ha Noi to Da Nang to help the city deal with any unexpected situations during the event.