Vietnam’s Hospitals Overloaded in 2005

Vietnam’s hospitals overloaded in 2005

HANOI, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) — Every 100 beds of hospitals in Vietnam had to serve 114.2 patients in 2005, local newspaper reported Friday quoting an official health report.

The bed occupancy rate of hospitals in major cities stood at as high as 130.3 percent last year, said the review report of the country’s Health Ministry according to newspaper Vietnam Agriculture.

In 2005, hospitals nationwide received over 75 million turns of people coming for medical check-ups and treatment. Of the people, more than 2.1 million local children aged under six received free treatment.

Vietnam, with a population of more than 83 million, is facing shortage of doctors, nurses, hospital beds and modern medical facilities. Equipment in many hospitals is aging, even nearly 50 years old, according to reports of some state-owned healthcare establishments and health agencies in 2005.

To cope with the situation, the ministry is seeking new ways to mobilize investment capital from different sources, in addition to proposing the country’s National Assembly increase state budget on the health sector.

State monies for the sector increased to nearly 10 U.S. dollars per person in 2004 from 5 dollars in 2001, according to the reports.