Vietnam Biggest City Launches New $20M Oncology Center

Ho Chi Minh City-based Cho Ray Hospital on Apr 30 inaugurated a 250-bed oncology center after two years of construction at a total cost of nearly VND429 billion ($19.9 million), the Ministry of Health said. The center, covering an area of over 21,000 square meters, has 12 above-ground floors, an entresol and two basements. It is capable of accommodating an average of 500 to 600 cancer patients each day. Speaking at the inaugural ceremony, Health Minister Nguyen Thi Kim Tien noted that oncology is one of the five specialties with the number of patients exceeding the capacity of most hospitals, especially those at the central level. For the first phase from end-2015 to July 2016, the oncology center will receive official development aid (ODA) worth VND350 billion from the Austrian government to outfit the facility with high-quality equipment, the ministry said. Vietnam has around 200,000 new cancer cases per year, up from 150,000 cases in 2013, doctors from K Hospital in Hanoi estimated. Up to 80% of cancer patients in Vietnam have been hospitalized in the terminal stage of the disease, which kills about 70,000 people in the country every year, data showed. (moh.gov.vn Apr 30)