Last week, an official from the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health claimed the southern hub could have better medical facilities than Singapore by 2020.
According to Tuoi Tre, municipal health department director Nguyen Tan Binh told a meeting of city leaders last week that the only obstacle standing between the southern hub and world-class medical facilities is adequate funding.
“We do not lack human resources; what we do lack is proper investment,” Binh said, according to the news outlet.
The official praised Saigon’s obstetric and pediatric hospitals as well as its medical personnel, claiming the southern hub would soon have the capacity to provide medical services on par with those offered in Europe and the United States.
According to Tuoi Tre, Binh also cited the development of a high-tech medical complex in Binh Chanh District’s Tan Kien Commune, a facility which is currently under construction and will be able to accommodate 2,600 patients once complete.
However, the official also noted the need for more flexible policies that allow for public-private partnerships in medical facility development, permitting private investors to operate medical facilities in cooperation with government entities.
With better facilities and more favorable policies, Binh told his colleagues, Saigon residents "will no longer have to travel to Singapore or any other country for medical treatment", according to Tuoi Tre.
Last year, the news outlet also reported in a separate article that one of the reasons behind many Vietnamese people’s decision to spend billions of dollars on medical services abroad is the “kind and attentive attitude” of foreign doctors.
[Photo via Zing]
