Creating momentum for specialized healthcare development

Nearly a year after implementing the Politburo's Resolution No. 72-NQ/TW, dated September 9, 2025, on breakthrough measures to strengthen the protection, care, and improvement of public health (referred to as Resolution No. 72), the Dong Nai health sector has recorded significant progress.

Leaders of the National Otolaryngology Hospital and the Dong Nai DoH sign a comprehensive cooperation agreement in October 2025. Photo: Huy Anh

Notably, the specialized healthcare network is being planned and reorganized to concentrate resources and gradually establish specialized centers. In particular, the Otorhinolaryngology Center at Dong Nai General Hospital has taken an important step forward after the Dong Nai City People's Committee approved the hospital's reorganization project, providing a legal basis for the center to be developed in line with the roadmap.

Bringing healthcare closer to the people

Specialist Level II Doctor Do Thi Nguyen, Director of the Department of Health (DoH), said Resolution No. 72 has been concretized through action plans issued by the City Party Committee, the City People's Committee, and the DoH. The DoH assigns tasks for implementing Resolution No. 72 in accordance with the "six clear" principle: clear personnel, clear tasks, clear timelines, clear responsibilities, clear outcomes, and clear authority.

With strong determination, the health sector has implemented a range of coordinated solutions and achieved many positive results. In 2026, Dong Nai is estimated to have 10.6 doctors per 10,000 people, up from 10 in 2025; 30.5 hospital beds per 10,000 people; health insurance coverage of approximately 96%; an average life expectancy of 76.5 years; and an essential vaccine coverage rate of over 95%.

The grassroots healthcare network has also been consolidated in line with the two-level local government model. Since the beginning of 2026, 95 health stations and 176 health station branches have been transferred to the management of the commune and ward People's Committees.

The Dong Nai health sector currently has a workforce of nearly 20,000 civil servants, public employees, and workers, including more than 10 Ph.D. holders, 150 specialist level II doctors, 110 holders of master's degrees in medicine, and nearly 1,000 specialist level I doctors.

According to Deputy Director of the DoH Nguyen Van Binh, a key highlight in the implementation of Resolution No. 72 is the city's urgent rollout of universal health check-ups. To date, 95 communes and wards have conducted periodic health check-ups and free screenings for more than 2.3 million people, accounting for more than 51.2% of the population. At the same time, more than 545,300 electronic health books have been created, providing an important condition for managing people's health throughout their lives and contributing to improving the quality of medical examination and treatment in the future.

Nguyen Lam Dinh Hoi, a resident of Loc Quang Commune, said that previously, people needing health check-ups had to visit health stations, medical centers, or large hospitals. Recently, however, doctors from health stations and major city hospitals have traveled directly to local communities to conduct health examinations. The health sector has even organized teams to visit the homes of people with disabilities, those with mobility difficulties, and the elderly.

Endoscopic cardiac surgery is performed at Dong Nai General Hospital.

Creating a new step forward in specialized healthcare

One of the key areas on which the Dong Nai health sector is focusing in the spirit of Resolution No. 72 is the development of specialized healthcare facilities, thereby gradually bringing advanced medical techniques closer to the public while reducing patient transfers and treatment costs.

According to the Plan for the development of medical infrastructure in Dong Nai Province (now City) for the 2021-2030 period, with a vision to 2050, approved by the Provincial (now City) People's Committee in Decision No. 779/QD-UBND, dated February 27, 2026, Dong Nai is oriented toward developing specialized centers, including 115 Emergency, Otorhinolaryngology, Cardiology, Oncology, Stroke, Geriatrics, Nephrology and Urology, and Tropical Diseases, and other specialized centers.

Among them, the Otorhinolaryngology Center at Dong Nai General Hospital is taking concrete steps toward implementation. In July 2026, the City People's Committee approved the project to reorganize Dong Nai General Hospital, under which the Otorhinolaryngology Center was designated as a unit under the hospital. This provides an important legal basis for realizing the city's policy of developing a specialized healthcare network.

According to the project, the Otorhinolaryngology Center will initially use the existing personnel of the Otorhinolaryngology Department, comprising 18 staff members, to ensure uninterrupted professional operations. It will subsequently recruit, train, foster, and mobilize additional personnel as needed. Once completed, the center is expected to have around 92-95 staff members.

Regarding facilities, the center will continue to make use of its existing premises and equipment. At the same time, repairs will be carried out and additional equipment provided in phases to meet professional development requirements. Investment will be implemented according to a roadmap, with funding from the state budget, the non-business activity development fund, and other sources as prescribed.

The implementation roadmap provides for the simultaneous reorganization of the organizational structure, personnel training, technical development, and investment in equipment, while ensuring that medical examination and treatment activities are not disrupted. Dong Nai General Hospital is assigned to develop a plan for recruiting, training, and fostering specialized human resources, while gradually adding equipment. The DoH is responsible for monitoring, providing guidance, conducting inspections, and coordinating efforts to resolve difficulties arising during implementation.

By 2030, the city aims to have an institute or a center for elderly care and healthcare, a geriatric hospital, or a general hospital with a geriatric department.

Director of the DoH Do Thi Nguyen said the establishment of a specialized Otorhinolaryngology Center is an urgent requirement given the upward trend in upper respiratory tract diseases, rhinosinusitis, allergies, and head and neck diseases. The center will aim to provide specialized treatment, conduct research into specific disease models, standardize protocols, apply high-tech techniques, and gradually treat on-site cases that previously had to be referred to higher-level hospitals.

From a professional standpoint, Deputy Director in charge of Dong Nai General Hospital Dinh Cao Minh said the hospital currently performs the most common otorhinolaryngology techniques, but patients with some complex conditions still need to be transferred to higher-level facilities. In 2024, the hospital transferred 42 cases of hypopharyngeal-laryngeal tumors and 15 cases of chronic otitis media because they were beyond its professional capacity. The establishment of the center will enable the hospital to receive transfers of specialized techniques and serve as a hub for providing professional support to other medical facilities.

At meetings with the city health sector, Member of the City Party Committee’s Standing Board and Vice Chairman of the City People's Committee Le Truong Son requested that investment in equipment and machinery be linked to human resource training. At the same time, the health sector must develop a long-term plan to attract and retain talented doctors.

Director of the DoH Do Thi Nguyen said that, in addition to the two existing specialized-level hospitals, Dong Nai General Hospital and Thong Nhat General Hospital, the DoH is concentrating resources on developing Long Khanh Regional General Hospital to reach the specialized level in the coming period. In addition, the department is carrying out procedures to formulate an investment plan to develop Dong Nai Children's Hospital into Dong Nai City Obstetrics and Pediatrics Hospital, with a proposed capacity of 1,500 beds, including 1,000 pediatric beds and 500 obstetric beds.

"The city already has five cardiology centers operating effectively, enabling timely emergency care for patients and significantly easing pressure on higher-level hospitals in Ho Chi Minh City. Among them, three hospitals – Dong Nai General Hospital, Thong Nhat General Hospital, and Long Khanh Regional General Hospital – have all been awarded Diamond certification by the World Stroke Organization for stroke treatment. This is an important foundation for developing specialized centers in a focused, specialized, and modern direction," said Director of the DoH Do Thi Nguyen.

By Hanh Dung – Translated by Minh Hong, Minho