Doctors conduct an endoscopic surgery (Photo: VNA)Can Tho (VNA) – The Mekong Delta region is facing a serious shortage of medical staff in five rare specialities including tuberculosis, leprosy, psychiatry, surgery and forensic science, according to the Can Tho University of Medicine and Pharmacy at a seminar held in Can Tho city on August 15.
Nguyen Thi Minh Phuong, head of the university’s training department, said that the region now has 152 doctors working in the five specialities, but half of them will retire by 2020. There are only four specialised doctors working at13 forensic medicine centres across the region.
The region houses eight hospitals to treat tuberculosis and lung diseases, with only a few doctors working in the field. For instance, Kien Giang province has no tuberculosis doctor at present.
Additionally, there are no surgeons working for the tumour departments of general hospitals in Can Tho city and in An Giang, Ben Tre, Hau Giang and Kien Giang provinces, he added.
To deal with this situation, in 2015, the Steering Committee for the Southwestern Region and the Ministry of Health assigned the Can Tho University of Medicine and Pharmacy to train 150 doctors to work in the five specialities each year to meet the region’s demands.
The Mekong Delta needs more than 4,900 doctors and nearly 2,000 pharmacists for the 2016-2020 period.-VNA
