High-quality healthcare is approaching the people

From early morning, Ms. Phung Kim Suong (71 years old, living in Trung My Tay ward, Ho Chi Minh City) was present at Trung My Tay ward health station for regular medical examination. Previously, every time she had to check-up, she had to ask her children and grandchildren to take her to Military Hospital 175, about 15km from her home.

"When I was introduced to the ward health station for examination, I realized that I could also monitor and provide medicine here" - Ms. Kim Suong shared.

Dr. Nguyen Van Vinh Chau - Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health - said that grassroots health plays a key role, especially ward and commune health stations, in the model of a multi-layered - multi-polar - multi-center health system that the health sector is aiming to implement. The disease room and early detection need to be placed on par with treatment. Primary health care is a foundation throughout, ranging from prevention, early screening, chronic disease management to rehabilitation. However, the role of grassroots health care has not been properly promoted. Data in 2025 shows that only about 8% of examinations take place at the starting line, the rest of people go directly to specialized hospitals. Medical human resources at the grassroots level also account for only about 17% of the total human resources of the industry, creating a vicious cycle between lack of human resources and lack of patients.

To remove this bottleneck, the Ho Chi Minh City health sector is synchronously implementing many solutions: Developing health stations according to the principle of family medicine; increase remote consultation; train non-communicable disease management for lower-level doctors; ensure the supply of drugs equivalent to higher-level drugs and have policies to attract doctors to work at the facility. In particular, Resolution 72 of the Politburo clearly identified the orientation of strongly shifting from "disease treatment" to "disease prevention activities", taking grassroots health care as a foundation.

"The goal is to make health stations truly the gateway to the health system, taking care of people's health early, from afar and throughout life" - Dr. Nguyen Van Vinh Chau emphasized.

To reduce pressure, Ho Chi Minh City Oncology Hospital and Vung Tau General Hospital have agreed to develop an oncology department in Ba Ria, survey and build a new center, helping people access quality medical services in the locality. Similarly, expanding medical examination and treatment in remote island areas such as Con Dao Special Zone and opening Tu Du Hospital ( Facility 2 in Can Gio) is also an approach to bring high-quality medical services closer to the people. When put into operation, these medical facilities have attracted thousands of people in nearby areas to come for examination, treatment and timely emergency care for many people on the spot, instead of transferring them to higher-level facilities.

According to Associate Professor, Dr. Tang Chi Thuong - Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health, in 2026, the city will review and re-plan the gateway hospital system to suit the new urban space.

Read the original here