Ho Chi Minh City Health Station's transformation steps to be closer to the people
For many years, the health system mainly operated according to the needs of medical examination and treatment. The shift to proactive examination, screening and early health management is expected to help detect diseases promptly, while reducing pressure on upper-level hospitals.
Dong Thanh commune, Ho Chi Minh City was established and officially put into operation according to the 2-level local government model from July 1, 2025, on the basis of merging 3 communes Dong Thanh, Thoi Tam Thon and Nhi Binh, with a current population of about 219. 219 people.
According to Mr. Ngo Hong Viet Thanh - Director of Dong Thanh Commune Health Station, implementing the direction of the Commune People's Committee, the station has proactively reviewed the list of examined subjects, locations, examination units and the number of people in the area to limit overlooking people and improve the rate of health check-ups.
The station also coordinates with many local functional departments to review and list groups of subjects organized by the locality for examination, regardless of age, subjects and people from other provinces. For students at public schools, the station coordinates and guides the organization of health check-ups, with the goal of not leaving any people behind in the health care process.
In Long Truong ward, there are currently about 100,094 people in the locality. After arranging administrative units and transferring the health station to the Ward People's Committee for management, the need for healthcare is increasing.
Long Truong Ward Health Station has 25 personnel, of which only 6 are doctors. The workload is increasing while human resources, especially specialist doctors, are still lacking.
Currently, the personnel at the health station are not sufficient compared to actual needs, but basically meet the needs of initial medical examination and treatment, community health care, disease prevention and control, and emergency response" - a representative of the health station said.
However, the station still lacks specialists in ophthalmology, otolaryngology, surgery, psychiatry, midwives... The unit proposed that the Ministry of Health have guidance on human resource norms suitable to the actual population size after arrangement, and at the same time have a mechanism to attract specialist doctors to work at the grassroots level and support contract workers during the time when they have not self-sufficiently ensured regular expenses.
The milestone of an active healthcare system
A noteworthy point in Ho Chi Minh City's direction is that the policies being implemented are inseparable. Widespread health check-ups, data digitization, strengthening grassroots healthcare and rearranging the hospital network are all aimed at building a healthcare system with the people at the center.
After the arrangement, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health continues to coordinate with departments, branches and localities to consolidate the operating capacity of health stations, especially in densely populated areas and industrial parks.
According to Dr. Huynh Minh Chinh - Deputy Director of Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health, in densely populated areas, the staff, facilities and equipment of health stations basically meet the operating requirements according to functions and tasks.
In the coming time, the health sector will continue to coordinate with departments, branches and local People's Committees to implement policies to support and invest in health stations, including repairing facilities and purchasing medical equipment" - Dr. Huynh Minh Chinh said.
The Department of Health will advise the City People's Committee on policies to attract and retain doctors at health stations. Currently, the grassroots level is still short of about 300-400 personnel compared to the new quota.
To supplement human resources, the Department of Health has organized job fairs to connect and attract doctors to work at health stations, health centers and units lacking human resources. At the same time, it also participated in contributing opinions to the draft circular of the Ministry of Health on staff quotas, in order to ensure human resources suitable to the new requirements of grassroots healthcare. If implemented synchronously, these changes can create an important milestone in the process of developing the city's health sector and bringing healthcare closer to each citizen.
