As a strategic hospital in the south of the country, Military Hospital 175 (the Hospital) under the Ministry of National Defence (MND) is tasked with supporting combat missions, providing medical examination and treatment, and delivering healthcare services to cadres and leaders of the Party, State, and Army, wounded and sick soldiers, service members, and residents within its area of responsibility as well as high-ranking officers of the Royal Cambodian Army. In addition, the Hospital takes responsibility for conducting scientific researches and maintaining international cooperation on medicine, directing professional knowledge and transfer of technology to lower-level hospitals and military infirmaries of the units from Da Nang southwards, and ensuring military medical forces in the southern waters of the country, while maintaining readiness for performing other tasks. In the early days of its inception, despite difficulties in facilities, medical equipment, and human resources, the Hospital always fulfilled its tasks of providing medical treatment and health care for wounded and sick soldiers, and managed to deal with the consequences of the national liberation wars. Shortly afterwards, the Hospital undertook the task of serving the Southwest Border Defence War and carrying out the international mission to help Cambodian friends. Sticking close to soldiers and performing the task in the most arduous places, the Hospital received, gave first aid to and treated more than 11,000 wounded and sick soldiers.

Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh visiting the Hospital

Being stationed in the area of strategic importance to national defence, security and economy with a high population density, the Hospital has determined that executing the Military - Civil Medical Programme is a regular and important task as well as a way to share the burden on Ho Chi Minh City’s medical system. The Hospital has actively adopted measures and solutions comprehensively and synchronously for effectively bringing into play facilities and medical staff’s experience and creativity to improve the quality of medical examination and treatment for the sake of “its patients’ satisfaction”. Currently, the Hospital receives about 2,000 visits/day on average and provides treatment for 1,100 to 1,200 patients/day. The sickbed utilization rate is from 110% to 124%, nearly twice as high as it was before 2008. Besides, the Hospital has actively participated in social and charitable activities, performing free surgeries for hundreds of babies with birth defects, conducting surgeries on hip and knee joints for policy beneficiaries in difficult circumstance, carrying out open heart surgeries, medical examination, and providing free medical examination and medicine, tens of thousands of gifts, and 12 houses of gratitude gifts to policy beneficiaries, people with meritorious services, and poor people in the provinces of Dak Nong, Tien Giang, Long An, Ba Ria - Vung Tau, Binh Phuoc, Binh Thuan, and Phu Yen and Ho Chi Minh City.

In order to protect the Homeland’s sovereignty over seas and islands, the military medical work has been seen as a crucial task. Being aware of that, the Hospital’s leaders and commanders have focused on cooperating with the Navy and the Naval Zone 4 in ensuring healthcare for the Spratly Islands. On a yearly basis, 10 to 12 medical cadres are dispatched to work on the Truong Sa Island. Facing difficulties, especially in facilities and medical equipment, the Hospital has actively mobilized social resources to make contributions to the construction of Truong Sa Island Infirmary. In May 2017, the Infirmary was put into operation with spacious infrastructure and modern medical equipment. In particular, via Telemecine system, the Hospital has instructed the Infirmary to successfully perform many complicated surgeries. So far, the Infirmary has delivered healthcare for more than 30,000 soldiers and fishermen working in the southern sea and island area of the country, including over 1,000 surgeries and 160 emergency cases. From a 3-person medical group with basic equipment, the Infirmary has become a “modern and superb” medical centre in the midst of the vast ocean. It has laid a firm foundation for cadres, soldiers and fishermen to work and live at sea and on islands, making practical contributions to maintaining the sacred sovereignty of the Fatherland.

Under the policy by the Party, State, Government, and MND on organizing the Level-2 Field Hospital No.1 for the United Nations peacekeeping mission in South Sudan, the Hospital’s Party Committee Standing Board recommended MND’s leaders to use the Hospital’s medical staff as the core force taking in charge of management and training. After 3 years, under the leadership and direction of the Central Military Commission, MND, especially Vietnam Department of Peacekeeping Operations together with the support of specialized agencies, the Hospital quickly completed the organizational structure and actively provided training in accordance with the United Nations’ framework programme. After experiencing two examinations, the Level-2 Field Hospital No.1 satisfied the requirements to be deployed to the South Sudan Mission. These military soldiers of the Vietnam People’s Army were proud and confident to start a new and unprecedented mission. In Bentiu, South Sudan, within just one year, the Field Hospital received and treated more than 2,000 patients, performed 62 surgeries, and participated in disease prevention and control for the whole Mission. It was such a huge workload that no field hospital had been able to do before. The Vietnamese “blue berets” not only successfully completed their professional work but also actively carried out the work of mass mobilization, teaching children, helping native people increase agricultural production, introducing Vietnamese culture and cuisine to the Mission and international friends. The United Nations has highly appreciated these jobs, sent two compliment letters to and presented the Field Hospital with the Peacekeeping Service Medal. The successful deployment of Level-2 Field Hospital No.1 has spread the image of “Uncle Ho’s soldiers” with good expertise and kindness, contributing to raising the status of Vietnam in the international arena. With such outstanding achievements, many individuals and collectives from the Level-2 Field Hospital No.1 were given noble rewards by the State and the MND.

When the country has more widely and deeply integrated into the world, the Hospital has proactively expanded medical cooperation with more than 40 partners in 11 countries, including the United States, Australia, Germany, Japan, South Korea, India, and China as well as with domestic hospitals, such as Cho Ray Hospital, Oncology Hospital, University Medical Center HCMC, and Military Central Hospital 108 in studying, transferring, developing and mastering modern technologies. At the same time, importance has been attached to studying, managing and applying the scientific projects conducted by the medical personnel. In recent years, the Hospital has successfully defended 3 State-level scientific projects, 21 ministerial-level projects and 300 grassroots-level projects. Many of them, including new technologies developed by young doctors, have been applied to providing healthcare services for patients. Currently, the Hospital has 1 associate professor, 22 doctors, 87 masters, 54 second degree specialists, 72 first degree specialists. It completely masters modern technologies in diagnosis and treatment, such as imaging and reconstructing the whole vascular system with CT64 Slide (MSCT), making vascular nerve intervention, performing open heart surgeries and spinal nerve surgeries, replacing hip and knee joints, conducting laparoscopic surgeries on the chest and thyroid and so on. Moreover, the Hospital has completed the master plan and projects for constructing the Department of High-Ranking Official Treatment, the Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment Centre, and the Traumato-orthopedics Institute with 500 sickbeds. In addition, it has procured many modern and synchronous medical machines and equipment, such as: SPECT machine, LINAC and brachytherapy system, modern biochemical testing system. The dream and aspirations of many generations of doctors, cadres, and medical labourers for a spacious and modern medical facility over the past 45 years have gradually been fulfilled.

The groundbreaking ceremony for the Military Hospital 175 with 1,000 sickbeds

In the coming time, to meet the more demanding military and defence requirements and the greater demand of the people within the area and patients in regional countries for medical services, the Hospital will strive to become an intensive, multi-functional medical complex on a par with the region. In order to achieve that goal, the Hospital has focused on a number of major measures as follows.

First of all, it has built a contingent of medical cadres and employees who are “Exemplars of medical ethics”. The Hospital’s Party Committee and Board of Directors have been promoting political and ideological education to raise the medical personnel’s awareness of their noble duty and sense of responsibility. All staff members are required to identify “Military Hospital” and “Military Doctor” as a brand name so as to constantly improve medical ethics. Besides, the Hospital has been accelerating the studying and following of Ho Chi Minh’s ideology, morality and lifestyle in various forms and via practical, effective measures. Due attention has been paid to sending medical staff members to grassroots units in the service of social work, medical examination and treatment in remote and isolated areas so that they can understand the hardships and difficulties of soldiers and local people.  By this way, it has increased the motivation and strength for the contingent of medical cadres and employees to continue devoting themselves to their noble task of treating diseases and saving lives.

Second, it has concentrated on improving professional expertise of a contingent of doctors and making them “expert at both medical theory and practice”. The Hospital has been flexibly applying training forms, including on-the-spot training, short-term and long-term training, domestic and foreign training with emphasis placed on both basic techniques and academic knowledge. Attention has also been paid to actively carrying out multi-centre scientific research projects so that there would be leading experts with academic titles and degrees in the near future in the service of the hospital - school integrated model. Great value has been attached to raising foreign language and information technology level and advanced medical management methods in order to fully grasp modern methods, technologies and means of diagnosis and treatment. Additionally, the Hospital has been promoting cooperation with military medical units of developed countries, such as Australia, the USA, Austria, Japan, and South Korea in exchanging information and updating new medical technical knowledge and technologies. In each stage of development, the Hospital’s Party Committee and Board of Directors have been well performing the work of medical staff planning, training, arrangement and use to meet the task requirements. Simultaneously, consideration has been given to continuing undertaking researches on and proposing appropriate remuneration policies in order to attract, conserve and develop human resources, thereby ensuring fast and sustainable development.

Third, it has renovated service style and attitude in order to gain “the satisfaction of patients”. The Hospital has continued strictly implementing the medical workers’ Code of Conduct and reforming the process of receiving and instructing patients. Moreover, the role of the Social Work Group has been promoted in solving problems in the process of examination and treatment. Transparent information about medical examination and treatment process and about the use of medical services has been ensured. Administrative procedures have been drastically reformed to boost the efficiency and quality of all aspects, while the information technology system has been exploited in the management work with a view to establishing electronic medical records. The Hospital has also been intensifying inspection and supervision of medicine use and medical techniques in line with standards, ensuring the patients’ rights.

Fourth, it has actively invested in infrastructure construction according to the planned roadmap. To this end, the Hospital has developed the overall plan for constructing the General Hospital, the Nursing Home, and the Centres of Cardiology, Neurology, and Nephrology - Andrology. Particularly, the General Hospital with 1,000 sickbeds is expected to be completed in 2021. At the same time, due regard has been paid to investing in synchronous modern medical equipment and information technology management system towards a smart hospital with advanced technologies at the regional and international levels.

Striving to become an intensive and versatile medical complex on a par with the region is a huge challenge; however, it is also a great opportunity for the Hospital to be turned into a Special-class hospital and a centre of military medicine, education - training, technology transfer and international cooperation of the Army in the Southern region.

Maj. Gen., Associate Prof, People’s Doctor NGUYEN HONG SON, Director of the Hospital