Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung held a working session on September 7 with the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee on the ways to reduce overloading at the city’s hospitals. Prime Minister at working session During the session, Vice Chairman of the municipal People’s Committe Hua Ngoc Thuan said the city’s hospitals have been gradually upgraded to meet people’s demand, but revealed that on average there are only 42 beds available for every 10,000 people. He said that overloading usually hits specialised hospitals the hardest, as people from rural areas flock to them for better treatment than they could get back home. In response to the situation, the city has been implementing a master plan approved by the Prime Minister to establish satellite hospitals in the 2013-2020 period. It is hoped this move will help mitigate the overload. Accordingly, hospitals at grassroots levels across the country will be given advanced equipment and their staff will be trained to develop their qualifications. Improving these hospitals will allow them to attract more patients. The Prime Minister affirmed the government’s decision to provide the city with funding for its key clinics, the Oncology Hospital and the Children’s Hospital as well as upgrading several existing institutions, such as Cho Ray and Thong Nhat hospitals. The PM urged the city to promptly finish the land clearance process in order to complete the construction within the next three years and offer a better service to patients. VNA