Under the healthcare network plan in 2021-2030, Vietnam would have 35 sickbeds per 10,000 people by 2030, and 19 doctors, 4.0 pharmacists and 33 nurses per 10,000. The number of sickbeds at private hospitals would account for 15 percent of total beds.

Vietnam targets having modern healthcare facilities of international stature by 2050, and a domestic pharmacy industry that will be turned into a valuable pharmacy production center. 

By that time, Vietnam would have 45 beds, 35 doctors, 4.5 pharmacists and 90 nurses per 10,000 people. The total number of sickbeds at private hospitals would account for 25 percent.

A report of the Ministry of Health (MOH) showed that in 2023, Vietnam had 12.5 doctors per 10,000 people (the figure was 9.81 doctors per 10,000 people in 2020). 

With a population of 100 million, Vietnam now has 125,000 doctors, and the ratio of sickbeds per 10,000 people is 32.

Under the socio-economic development plan in 2024 mentioned in the National Assembly’s Resolution 103/2023 and the government’s Resolution 01/NQ-CP, the health sector needs to increase the number of doctors to 13.5 per 10,000 people, and the number of beds to 32.5.

In 2020, the density of doctors was 9.8 per 10,000 people. However, the figure was only 7.2 doctors in the Central Highlands, and 7.6 in Mekong Delta. There were 10.6 doctors per 10,000 people in the southeastern region. 

MOH, after considering the training scale, estimated that about 13,000 doctors graduate from school each year.

The healthcare network plan in 2021-2030 with a vision towards 2050 calls for medical facilities at regional, inter-provincial and inter-disciplinary levels offering medical examination, treatment and rehabilitation; forensic examinations and forensic psychiatric examinations; preventive medicine, and public health; testing, inspection, and standardization of drugs and cosmetics, food, vaccines, medical biological products, health equipment, and medicine production; and population and reproductive health.

There are 34 central hospitals under the ministry in the fields of medical examination, treatment and rehabilitation, including 11 general hospitals and 23 specialized hospitals with the number of beds accounting for 9.4 percent of total beds throughout the country. There are also seven hospitals under medical and pharmaceutical schools under MOH.

There are 471 provincial hospitals, including both general and specialized ones, where beds account for 83.6 percent of total sickbeds at public hospitals.

There are 231 private hospitals with the number of beds accounting for 4 percent of total beds.

N. Huyen