Thanh An is the only island commune in Ho Chi Minh City, where boats are the only means of transport to the mainland, but local residents say they feel secure about health care service at the island’s medical station.

Tran Thanh Phong, a patient of chronic kidney failure, said he receives regular health checks at the medical station, where there is sufficient equipment and dedicated doctors. The doctors are ready to go to his home whenever he feels so ill to go by himself, Phong said.

The district hospital in the coastal district of Can Gio used to have no paediatric department, but since 2013, doctors from Nhi Dong 2 Hospital have been sent here to work. Each day the hospital gives health checks and treatment to nearly 100 child patients.

The changes in Thanh An Commune and Can Gio District are examples of the transformation in the health care sector in Ho Chi Minh City, which has expanded from just 20 hospitals in 1975 to 107 at present. All communes and wards have medical stations, with at least one doctor for each medical station at communal level. The city now has an average 14.5 doctors and 33.7 nurses for every 10,000 people, higher than the national average.

Besides expanding the network of health care facilities, HCM City has made great strides forward in developing high-tech medical treatment.

The successful operation to separate conjoined twins Viet and Duc in October 1988 marked a breakthrough in the city’s health care development. Ten years later, on April 30, 1998, the Tu Du Hospital delivered the first three test-tube babies in Vietnam, paving the way for infertility treatment in the country.

Hi-tech medical treatment has developed at high speed during the past decades, with many city hospitals capable of performing advanced techniques in bio-technology, organ transplant, endoscopy and interventional treatment of cardio-vascular diseases.

Looking forward, the city will continue to build a professional and modern health care network, ensuring initial health care for all people while enhancing access to quality medical services, contributing to economic growth and sustainable development.-VNA