Expanding Health Station Capabilities in Ho Chi Minh City due to Increased Population following the City's Merger
Ho Chi Minh City (HCM City) is embarking on a significant overhaul of its grassroots healthcare infrastructure, with a focus on transforming local health stations into "mini hospitals" equipped with essential departments and medical equipment. The primary objectives of this initiative include decentralizing medical care, enhancing quality and standardization, reducing hospital overload, supporting population growth, and reaching underserved areas.
Decentralizing medical care is a key objective, with the aim of making primary healthcare more accessible for residents, reducing the need to travel to central hospitals for basic check-ups and treatments. At least 125 stations with an area of over 500 sq.m will be standardized and equipped to meet Ministry of Health guidelines, ensuring consistent quality of care at the community level.
Strengthening grassroots facilities is intended to offload higher-level hospitals, reserving these for more complex cases and emergency situations. This is particularly important in light of HCM City’s growing population, which has increased from 9.9 to 13.7 million following the merger with Bà Rịa-Vũng Tàu and Bình Dương provinces. Special attention is being given to remote, rural, and island communities, with plans for increased investment, modern equipment, and deployment of medical experts to ensure equitable access to healthcare.
Despite ambitious plans, several challenges remain. Reduced hospital bed ratio, resource allocation, healthcare inequality, project delays, and infrastructure transition are all significant hurdles to overcome. To address these challenges, HCM City has outlined a multi-pronged approach, including upgrading health stations to function as mini hospitals, expanding health infrastructure, strengthening human resources, targeted support for remote areas, and integration and collaboration between hospitals.
The city is accelerating the construction of new hospitals and reviewing delayed projects to increase overall capacity. Plans for improved grassroots healthcare also include strengthening staffing at grassroots facilities, ensuring that primary care is delivered by trained professionals. Increased investment, deployment of volunteer doctors, and modern equipment are planned for islands like Con Dao to ensure no community is left behind.
Hospitals in newly merged areas are establishing technical and professional agreements with central hospitals in HCM City to improve diagnosis and treatment quality, facilitating smoother patient transfers when needed. A Big Data platform is to be developed to connect the health data of city residents with the national population database and the VNeID platform.
The health sector aims to build a special urban model to become a centre of health, science, technology, and innovation for the entire country. The department has advised the merger of three centres for disease control and prevention, three medical assessment centres, and three forensic centres. A second Từ Dũ̃ Maternity Hospital facility is planned for the outlying Cần Giờ area.
In conclusion, while HCM City faces substantial challenges due to rapid population growth and administrative changes, its comprehensive plan to upgrade grassroots medical stations—coupled with targeted investments in infrastructure and human resources—aims to transform primary healthcare delivery. Success will depend on timely project completion, equitable resource distribution, and sustained focus on underserved communities, ensuring that all residents benefit from improved access to quality healthcare close to home.
- In an effort to decentralize medical care and promote health-and-wellness, at least 125 enlarged health stations will be transformed into "mini hospitals" equipped with essential departments and medical equipment, ensuring consistent quality of care at the community level.
- To tackle hospital overload resulting from HCM City’s growing population and reach underserved areas, the city is planning to strengthen grassroots facilities with increased investment, modern equipment, and deployment of medical experts, particularly in remote, rural, and island communities.
- To further improve the quality of healthcare, HCM City is establishing technical and professional agreements with central hospitals, developing a Big Data platform for health data integration, and constructing new hospitals, such as the second Từ Dũ̃ Maternity Hospital facility for the outlying Cần Gio
