The health sector and every worker in it should be proud of their enormous and worthy contributions to the cause of the nation’s defence and construction over the past 55 years, a top Government leader has said.

Addressing the 55th anniversary of Vietnamese Physicians Day in Hanoi on Feb. 24, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung praised doctors, nurses and health officials who have executed their responsibilities to the utmost and surmounted difficulties to serve the people.

In the year 2010 – the last year of the health sector’s strategy on caring for people’s health, the health sector should help provide the poor, ethnic minorities, children under-6 and other disadvantaged persons with equal access to healthcare services, the PM said.

He emphasised the need for the health sector to collaborate closely with other government ministries, sectors and local authorities to manage diseases while developing the pharmaceutical industry to ensure that the people are provided with high-quality, reasonably-priced medicines.

Additionally, the sector should continue deploying the development of a master plan for the national health system this year and orientations to 2020, as well as enhance the training of personnel and the development of human resources, PM Dung noted.

“The ethics and virtue of doctors are essential elements determining the success of the health sector,” PM Dung affirmed.

Over the past years, the Government has adopted a host of investment policies for the health sector, especially its district branches, resulting in the construction of 621 district and inter-district general hospitals to meet the people’s growing demand for medical check-ups and treatment.

The same day, PM Dung attended the inauguration of the new cardiovascular centre at Hospital E in Hanoi .

At the event, the PM pointed out that in Vietnam more than 10,000 children are born with congenital heart diseases annually but just half of them receive surgeries.

In the coming time, the State will work with the health sector and other funding sources to invest in developing new cardiovascular centres for children, with the first ones being in Hanoi , Ho Chi Minh City and several central provinces , PM Dung said.

The Hospital E cardiovascular centre is located in the heart of the hospital. It plans to conduct surgeries on 200-300 patients suffering from cardiovascular problems this year./.