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The construction of three new gateway hospitals in Ho Chi Minh City is on schedule, but the funding to purchase medical equipment for these facilities to be operational by the end of this year is unknown. There is a risk that the project will have to be “shelved”.
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| Construction team at the new construction site of Thu Duc Regional General Hospital |
Busy completing the project
In late March 2023, at the Thu Duc Regional General Hospital (Thu Duc City) new construction project, hundreds of engineers and workers were busy constructing construction items. Engineer Ly Bich, project manager, said that every day there were nearly 400 engineers and workers constructing and supervising. Currently, the rough construction (10 floors above ground, 1 basement) has been completed one month ahead of schedule.
Engineer Ly Bich affirmed: “The joint venture contractor including Construction Joint Stock Company No. 5, Thanh An 96 Construction Joint Stock Company, Medinsco Medical Equipment and Engineering Joint Stock Company and Moc Thanh Van Interior Decoration Company Limited committed to completing the items and handing over the project to the city in December this year.”
Similarly, the project to build a new Cu Chi Regional General Hospital (in Bau Tre 2 Hamlet, Tan An Hoi Commune, Cu Chi District, with a scale of 13 floors above ground, 1 basement, 1 technical floor; technical infrastructure scale meeting 1,000 beds, total investment of 1,854 billion VND) and the project to build a new Hoc Mon Regional General Hospital (scale of 12 floors above ground, 2 basements, total investment of 1,895 billion VND) have both completed the rough construction and are implementing yard and green space items.
According to engineer Le Sy Tuan, project commander of Hoc Mon Regional General Hospital, the project started in January 2021, and despite being affected by many factors, the joint venture of contractors still tried to complete it on schedule.
“The construction has been completed, and we are currently completing the elevator and escalator systems; the cooling system; the central air conditioning system; the AHU air handling system (heat and humidity treatment system using heat exchange method)… With the current construction speed, we will be able to hand over the main building to the hospital for use by October,” said engineer Le Sy Tuan.
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| The project to build a new Hoc Mon Regional General Hospital is gradually completing its items. |
There are still many problems
Although excited about the speed of the new hospital construction, Director of Thu Duc Regional General Hospital Cao Tan Phuoc pondered: “We are really worried because the procurement of specialized medical equipment is facing difficulties. The hospital needs 1,500 billion VND to purchase equipment but has not yet been allocated capital. The hospital has sent a list of urgent equipment many times, but so far there has been no change. If this issue is not resolved immediately, when the hospital is put into use, we do not know how it will operate and treat patients.”
Regarding this issue, a representative of the Management Board of Investment and Construction Projects for Civil and Industrial Works of Ho Chi Minh City said that the city invested in the construction of 3 gateway hospitals with a total investment of 5,664 billion VND (construction capital, excluding medical equipment). The projects aim to reduce the load on end-line hospitals and inner-city areas; create better conditions in terms of facilities, equipment, technology and professional qualifications for healthcare for people at the frontline in the city's gateway districts and people in neighboring provinces. However, the medium-term public investment capital for the 2021-2025 period of Ho Chi Minh City is not capable of balancing to arrange for investment projects to purchase specialized medical equipment for the 3 hospitals because it is necessary to prioritize allocating sufficient capital for other projects.
Faced with this reality, the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee has issued 5 official dispatches reporting and recommending the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Ministry of Finance to allocate central budget capital for the period 2021-2025 to invest in 3 projects to purchase specialized medical equipment for the 3 above-mentioned hospitals.
Regarding this issue, in Notice No. 250/TB-VPCP dated August 17, 2022 of the Government Office on the conclusion of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh at the working session with the leaders of Ho Chi Minh City, it is stated that the Prime Minister directed the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee to review and adjust the medium-term plan for the period 2021-2025 from projects that are not really urgent and arrange from other legal capital sources according to regulations to supplement capital for 3 hospitals.
At the same time, the Prime Minister requested ministries to coordinate with the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee to propose plans to supplement capital for 3 hospital projects from the adjusted capital of projects that are unable to disburse or other legal capital sources according to regulations.
Implementing the Prime Minister's direction, based on reviewing the ability to balance the city's budget, Ho Chi Minh City has only arranged a medium-term public investment plan for the period 2021-2025 for 3 projects to purchase equipment for 3 hospitals at 3 billion VND to carry out the investment preparation task, there is no capital source to arrange for the implementation of these 3 projects.
To put the hospitals into operation soon, the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee proposed that the Ministry of Planning and Investment review the capital sources to increase revenue and save the central budget in 2022 to advise the Prime Minister to arrange investment capital for 3 projects to purchase specialized medical equipment at 3 gateway hospitals of Ho Chi Minh City, with a total demand of 4,500 billion VND. The Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee committed to focus on directing the implementation and completion of the projects in the period of 2023-2025.
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