A series of medical facilities in Ho Chi Minh City are proposed to be merged and dissolved.

On the evening of October 30th, sources informed Dan Tri newspaper that the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health had completed and submitted to the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee a plan for reorganizing public healthcare facilities.

3 stages of restructuring and merger

Accordingly, the restructuring is divided into three phases. In phase 1, after merging with the Departments of Health of Binh Duong and Ba Ria - Vung Tau provinces (formerly) from July 1st, the new Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health has 9 specialized departments, 2 sub-departments, and 124 affiliated public service units.

In phase 2, the Department of Health continued the restructuring process, resulting in 118 affiliated public service units, including 32 general hospitals, 28 specialized hospitals, 5 specialized and preventive medicine centers, 38 regional health centers, and 15 centers in the field of social welfare.

During this period, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health merged the Centers for Disease Control, Medical Examination, and Forensic Medicine of the three former provinces and cities.

The plan involves converting 38 district, county, and city health centers into 38 regional health centers (including 13 health centers with inpatient beds and 25 health centers without inpatient beds).

Specifically, the health centers in Nhieu Loc, Cho Lon, Hoa Hung, and Can Gio districts have had their operating models adjusted to become non-inpatient health centers, transferring these functions to hospitals that are currently overloaded.

At the same time, the Department of Health reorganized 443 commune, ward, and special zone health stations into 168 health stations linked to 296 affiliated health points.

In phase 3 (expected to be completed on December 31st), the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health will have 9 specialized departments, 2 sub-departments, and 92 affiliated public service units (including 60 hospitals, 5 specialized and preventive medicine centers, 13 regional health centers with inpatient beds, and 14 centers in the field of social welfare).

Specifically, 168 health stations will become 168 public service units directly under the People's Committee of wards, communes, and special zones.

Strengthening and improving the capacity of hospitals in the two former provinces.

In its detailed restructuring plan, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health stated that it will strengthen and improve the capacity of hospitals in the former Ba Ria - Vung Tau and Binh Duong provinces.

Specifically, Gia Dinh People's Hospital is responsible for providing comprehensive support to Vung Tau General Hospital. For Ba Ria General Hospital, in addition to conducting inspections, the Department of Health plans to assign People's Hospital 115 to provide comprehensive support to this unit.

Regarding Binh Duong General Hospital, the Department of Health has instructed leading specialized hospitals to continue providing professional support according to the unit's needs; and recommended that the project to build a new facility be completed soon to ensure the hospital's development.

Hàng loạt cơ sở y tế ở TPHCM được đề xuất sáp nhập, giải thể - 2 — Emergency Department, Vung Tau General Hospital (Photo: Q.D).

In the specialized field, the Department of Health assigned the Ho Chi Minh City Traditional Medicine Hospital to provide comprehensive support to the Ba Ria - Vung Tau Traditional Medicine Hospital; Pham Ngoc Thach Hospital to support Pham Huu Chi Lung Hospital; while the two Mental Hospitals and Eye Hospitals in the former Vung Tau area will continue to operate as before the merger.

The Department of Health also proposed developing a second facility model for specialized hospitals in Ho Chi Minh City at existing facilities in Vung Tau and Binh Duong (formerly).

These include the former Le Loi Hospital (transferred to Tu Du or Hung Vuong Hospital); the former Ba Ria Hospital (transferred to the Oncology Hospital); the Binh Duong Tuberculosis and Lung Disease Specialist Hospital (transferred to Pham Ngoc Thach Hospital); and the Binh Duong Psychiatric Specialist Hospital (transferred to the Ho Chi Minh City Psychiatric Hospital).

Proposals to merge or dissolve numerous healthcare units.

The Ho Chi Minh City health sector will also merge underperforming hospitals, establish new hospitals, and take over hospitals from ministries and other sectors in the area.

Specifically, the plan includes merging Saigon General Hospital into Gia Dinh People's Hospital effective January 1, 2026; and establishing Tu Du Hospital Branch 2 in Can Gio commune, based on taking over inpatient treatment functions from Can Gio Regional Health Center.

After taking over the Ho Chi Minh City Transport Hospital from the Ministry of Transport, a plan was then developed to merge this unit into the second facility of the Ho Chi Minh City Rehabilitation and Occupational Disease Treatment Hospital.

For the primary healthcare sector, the entire personnel, facilities, and finances of the 25 regional health centers without inpatient beds will be transferred to the health stations. After the transfer is completed, the health centers will be dissolved.

With 13 medical centers with inpatient beds (located in the former Binh Duong and Ba Ria - Vung Tau provinces), consider proposing to upgrade eligible centers to hospitals or arrange for them to become second facilities of suitable hospitals.

After reorganization, the health stations will function to provide specialized technical services in primary healthcare to the people in the commune.

Regarding the social welfare sector, based on the actual situation, the Department of Health proposes dissolving the Thu Duc City Social Security Center (expected in the first quarter of 2026) to ensure streamlined management and avoid overlapping functions and responsibilities.

Regarding the remaining 14 social welfare centers, the Department of Health proposes temporarily maintaining their current organization and operations. In 2026, the Department will conduct a comprehensive survey and assessment of the activities of these facilities before developing a plan for restructuring and consolidation.

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