Hospitals and health centres in HCM City’s districts and wards last year attracted more patients, reducing overcrowding at central and city-level hospitals.
HCM City (VNA) - Hospitals andhealth centres in HCM City’s districts and wards last year attracted morepatients, reducing overcrowding at central and city-level hospitals, accordingto the city’s Department of Health.
Thenumber of outpatients at district-level hospitals in the city last yearincreased by nearly 21 percent compared to 2015, thanks to the department’sprogrammes to improve quality.
The department’sreport, released on January 21, showed that the number of inpatients hadincreased by more than 10 percent compared to 2015.
Of these, Thu Duc District Hospital had the largest number of patients withmore than 4,000 a day, followed by Tan Phu District Hospital with more than3,000 patients a day, and hospitals in districts 2, Binh Thanh and Binh Tanwith more than 2,000 patients a day.
Over the last several years, the department has sent doctors from city-levelhospitals to offer training to doctors at district-level hospitals, Asso ProfDr Tang Chi Thuong, the department’s deputy head, said at a meeting last week.
The city has also allocated a portion of its budget to develop facilities andequipment for district-level hospitals, he said, adding that establishingfamily doctor clinics at district-level hospitals has helped attract morepatients.
Leadersof district-level hospitals such as Thu Duc, Tan Phu, Cu Chi, Nha Be, Binh Chanh,2, and 12 have set up satellite clinics at health centres located in wards intheir areas.
The first satellite general clinic set up in Binh Chieu Ward by Thu DucDistrict Hospital saw an increase of patients from 168 in January to 3,621 inDecember.
Thuong said the department continued to develop a system of general clinics inmore district wards, with human resources and equipment given top priority.
Nguyen Thi Thu, deputy chairwoman of the city People’s Committee, said thatsatellite clinics should be set up at wards with a high number of workers andin outlying rural areas.
The city is encouraging investment from the private sector in health centres atthe grassroots level to ensure implementation of national health careprogrammes, Thu said.-VNA
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Illustrative image. (Photo: suckhoedoisong.vn) 
