Phu Tho province will give doctors working in state hospitals 900 million VND (42,800 USD) each to pursue doctorate degrees.

Director of the Phu Tho Department of Health Ho Duc Hai said the province wanted to improve the quality of its medical professionals. It expects that with the financial support the province will bring in 27 doctors with doctorate degrees by 2020. The studying period is three years.

Hai said the Government approved the province's plan to build a high-tech general hospital with specialised centres for tumours, cardiovascular diseases, obstetrics and paediatrics. It would need highly professional doctors to staff the new hospital and use the new, more modern equipment.

Vuong Truong Thai, Deputy Director of Lam Thao District Hospital, said Lam Thao and many other district hospitals in the province urgently needed more doctors, but the Government would be sending them away to study instead of work where they're needed.

On the average, each hospital needed 10 to 20 more doctors to meet local residents' needs for examinations and treatments, Thai said. Many hospitals even had to bring retired doctors back to work.

The province has trained two doctors with doctorate degrees since 2009. It doesn't offer doctors benefits with their salaries so it's hard to attract well-trained professionals, Hai said. But doctors seemed eager about new support.

Dr. Dao Van Khai of Tam Nong District General Hospital said that the project would help doctors increase their professional skills, and he hoped the support would include more modern equipment for hospitals.-VNA