Deputy Minister of Health Le Duc Luan. Photo: Hoang Phong
This direction of the Prime Minister was announced by Minister and Head of the Government Office Tran Van Son at the recent regular Government press conference.
In addition, Deputy Minister of Health Le Duc Luan said that the process of building and implementing the contract for the two hospitals Bach Mai 2 and Viet Duc 2 in Ha Nam encountered many difficulties. In early 2021, the construction of these two projects was suspended, and since then the problems have not been resolved. Currently, Bach Mai 2 Hospital is more than 90% complete, Viet Duc 2 is more than 60% complete.
"Today, the contractor has started construction on the Viet Duc 2 Hospital project," said Mr. Luan.
The two projects of Viet Duc Friendship Hospital and Bach Mai Hospital, branch 2 in Ha Nam, started in 2014, each with 1,000 beds, aiming to reduce the demand for medical examination and treatment at branch 1, which is overloaded with patients. These are two projects in the Ministry of Health's plan to build five large hospitals nationwide, starting in 2014, the investor is the Key Medical Project Management Board.
Bach Mai partially operated branch 2 in 2019, but stopped operating it since March 2020. Meanwhile, Viet Duc stopped at the ribbon cutting ceremony, never receiving patients. Most of them do not have medical equipment.
In 2023, the Prime Minister decided to establish a Government working group with the participation of the Ministries of Health, Construction, Planning and Investment, Finance, Justice, and the Government Office to jointly review and remove difficulties. The working group has repeatedly reviewed project documents, comprehensively assessed related legal and technical aspects, and proposed solutions to competent authorities.
Bach Mai Hospital 2, September 2022. Photo: Ngoc Thanh
At the meeting of the Standing Committee of the Central Steering Committee on Anti-Corruption, Wastefulness, and Negativity on October 30, General Secretary To Lam assigned competent authorities to focus on handling a number of wasteful projects such as Bach Mai Hospital and Viet Duc Hospital branch 2 in Ha Nam; flood control project in Ho Chi Minh City; and renewable energy projects that have been built but not yet connected and operated./.