The first phaseof the programme aimed at improving the diagnostic and treatmentcapacity of provincial-level hospitals began in 2013, said Nguyen TanBinh, director of the municipal Department of Health.
In thesouth, six major hospitals in HCM City have been entrusted withproviding training and transferring medical techniques to 14 hospitalsin southern provinces.
The Hospital for Traumatology andOrthopaedics, Gia Dinh People's Hospital, Tu Du Obstetrics Hospital,Children's Hospital No.1, Children's Hospital No.2, and OncologyHospital have transferred 250 medical techniques in the two years.
The provincial hospitals now perform most of these techniques, Binh told a recent meeting held in HCM City.
The number of people treated at these hospitals has increased significantly, easing the overload at HCM City hospitals, he said.
A shortage of medical officials and doctors at hospitals around the Mekong Delta hindered their learning of new techniques.
While there is an average of seven doctors per 10,000 population in Vietnam, the delta has only 4.6.
Healthof Minister Nguyen Thi Kim Tien said the programme would be expanded toanother 13 cities and provinces that have yet to join the programme.
Inall, 14 major hospitals – the other eight being in Ha Noi and Hue —have transferred to 48 hospitals across the country medical techniquesin five fields in which patient demand is overwhelming, she said,listing cardiology, traumatology, oncology, obstetrics, and paediatrics.
"Teachingthese techniques plays a key role in improving the quality of diagnosisand treatment at provincial hospitals and easing crowding at majorhospitals."
People's Hospital 115, Binh Dan Hospital, EyeHospital, and the Hospital of Haematology and Blood Transfusion in HCMCity will be added in the second phase of the project between 2016 and2020, according to the city Department of Health.-VNA