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The model of the Ho Chi Minh City Hospital for Traumatology and Orthopedics (Facility 2) in Zone 6A, Hamlet 4, Binh Hung Commune, Binh Chanh District |
However, some hospitals are still grappling with overcrowding, with patients waiting in cramped conditions, while construction projects continue to progress slowly, awaiting completion.
Recently, the HCMC Hospital for Traumatology and Orthopaedics issued an urgent report to the HCMC Department of Health and the People's Committee of District 5, informing them about the serious deterioration of the student dormitory building of Cao Thang Technical College (located adjacent to the hospital). This situation has had an adverse effect on the hospital's operations and has raised concerns among patients.
13 years at a standstill
Doctor Chau Van Dinh, Director of the HCMC Hospital for Traumatology and Orthopedics, has reported that the student dormitory building of Cao Thang Technical College, located at 931-937 Tran Hung Dao Street, District 5, constructed in the 1960s, is experiencing severe deterioration.
Due to its age, many walls, columns, and panels in the building have become waterlogged and peeling, and even concrete fragments have fallen onto the roof of the hospital's operating room and administrative area. Furthermore, the building no longer meets safety standards concerning structural integrity, fire safety, and environmental hygiene, posing a threat to the safety of the lives of the hospital's employees, workers, and the relatives of patients.
According to the reporter's findings, the HCMC Hospital for Traumatology and Orthopedics has been forced to carry out emergency patient evacuations multiple times due to fires in the dormitory area. Additionally, wastewater from the dormitory's waste disposal facility has spilled over, leading to contamination in the emergency area and hospital hallways. The hospital is also hindered by a single narrow entrance, roughly 2 meters wide, for internal traffic, despite accommodating 5,000 individuals daily, including patients and their families. This congestion and bottleneck at the entrance from outside to inside the hospital is a recurring issue.
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Patients' relatives have to sleep under the patients' beds at the Ho Chi Minh City Hospital for Traumatology and Orthopedics. |
In the face of that situation, in 2010, the Prime Minister approved the proposal for the construction of a new HCMC Hospital for Traumatology and Orthopedics in Binh Hung Commune of Binh Chanh District. This new hospital was envisioned to comprise 13 floors (12 above and one below ground), with 500 hospital beds and an estimated total investment of approximately VND1.13 trillion through a Build-Transfer (BT) arrangement. At that time, HCMC was determined to initiate the hospital's construction in the fourth quarter of 2010, with an expected construction period of 32 months (from the site handover date). However, 13 years have elapsed, and the project remains at a standstill.
The Department of Health of HCMC had once suggested to the city's People's Committee that they halt the project's implementation using the BT model and shift to financing through the city's budget. They also sought approval to relocate the project to Tan Tuc Town in Binh Chanh District. Nonetheless, as of now, the project is still only a proposal on paper.
Waiting repeatedly
Faced with the severe deterioration of the hospital's infrastructure and the growing number of patients, along with the prolonged delay in the new hospital construction project, the leadership of the Hospital for Traumatology and Orthopedics has formally requested the acquisition of property and land from the HCMC Hematology and Blood Transfusion Hospital which has moved to a new facility in Binh Chanh District, located at 201 Pham Viet Chanh Street, Nguyen Cu Trinh Ward, District 1. This proposal is aimed at meeting the healthcare needs of patients and alleviating the overcrowding issue at the hospital in District 5. This solution has received the endorsement of the HCMC Department of Health.
On August 4, 2023, the unit submitted a document to the Department of Finance addressing the transfer of property and land located at 201 Pham Viet Chanh Street, District 1. The document explicitly emphasizes the necessity of transferring this property and land from the HCMC Hematology and Blood Transfusion Hospital to the HCMC Hospital for Traumatology and Orthopedics for medical examination and treatment purposes. This transfer is seen as in line with healthcare service requirements and the efficient utilization of public assets.
Responding to this information, on September 21, during the periodic press conference organized by the People's Committee of HCMC, Mr. Nguyen Tran Phu, Deputy Director of the Department of Finance, announced that in September 2023, the department would finalize the procedures for transferring and handing over the property from the HCMC Hematology and Blood Transfusion Hospital (located at 201 Pham Viet Chanh Street, District 1) to the Hospital for Traumatology and Orthopedics. At the same time, it requested the Hospital for Traumatology and Orthopedics to conduct a survey and develop a plan for renovation and repairs.
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Cramped and confined space inside the Ho Chi Minh City Hospital for Traumatology and Orthopedics. |
"The Department of Finance has finished its evaluation, concurred with the Department of Health's request, and is currently preparing a document for submission to the HCMC People's Committee for the approval of asset transfer, encompassing real estate, land, and related assets, from the HCMC Hematology and Blood Transfusion Hospital to the HCMC Hospital for Traumatology and Orthopedics for management and utilization. Simultaneously, we suggest that the Department of Health takes the lead in directing both hospitals to organize the handover, receipt, and asset management in accordance with established regulations," Mr. Nguyen Tran Phu stated.
However, a recent development has seen the HCMC Department of Finance urgently send a document to the Department of Health in HCMC, providing details regarding the land located at 201 Pham Viet Chanh Street in District 1. This piece of land covers an area of 890.8 square meters and has a usable floor space of 1,632 square meters under the management of the HCMC Hematology and Blood Transfusion Hospital (Facility 2).
According to the Department of Finance, the HCMC Hematology and Blood Transfusion Hospital has possessed a land use certificate and the ownership rights of residential property and other assets associated with the land, issued by the HCMC Department of Natural Resources and Environment since 2013. However, according to information from the HCMC Red Cross, this land was previously part of the Hong Thap Tu Infirmary, located at 201 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Street, Nguyen Cu Trinh Ward, District 1. In 1977, the HCMC Red Cross was founded and entrusted by the People's Committee of HCMC to manage this land as its operational headquarters.
Later, at the request of the People's Committee of HCMC, this land was divided in half and allocated to the Department of Health for use as the HCMC Hematology and Blood Transfusion Hospital, primarily serving the treatment and accommodation of patients. From 2011 to 2013, the People's Committee of HCMC issued several directives about the initiation of an investment project for the construction of the new headquarters of the HCMC Red Cross. This project included the existing premises of the Red Cross and the portion of land currently occupied by the HCMC Hematology and Blood Transfusion Hospital.
To provide a foundation for their report to the People's Committee of HCMC, the Department of Finance has formally requested the Department of Natural Resources and Environment to furnish information relating to the progress made in executing the directives issued by the People's Committee of HCMC concerning the initiation of an investment project for the construction of the new headquarters of the HCMC Red Cross. Concurrently, they seek to clarify whether the 890.8 square meters of land allocated to the HCMC Hematology and Blood Transfusion Hospital includes the portion of land the Red Cross temporarily lent to the Department of Health or not.
As for the Department of Health and the HCMC Hematology and Blood Transfusion Hospital, the Department of Finance requested them to report the whole process of receiving, managing, and utilizing the property, located at 201 Pham Viet Chanh Street. This report should encompass all associated legal documentation and explicitly identify the section of land obtained from the Red Cross.
As of October 13, the land at 201 Pham Viet Chanh Street in District 1 remains in a closed and locked state, and the representative of the Hospital for Traumatology and Orthopedics has stated that the transfer process has not yet been carried out.
