Work on new Xieng Khuang hospital half complete

Construction of a six-storey hospital in Paek district, Xieng Khuang province, costing more than 82 billion kip is nearly half complete.
The building is now 42 percent complete after work began in 2017, with completion expected in 2020.
The hospital will have an outpatient department, wards containing about 200 beds, treatment rooms, healthcare services, and offices.
The Vietnamese government together with the Lao government is providing more than 180 billion kip (497 billion dong) to build the hospital and to make other improvements to healthcare in the province.

Construction of the hospital with Vietnam’s assistance will serve to further cement the brotherly relations between Laos and Vietnam.
Director of the Health Department in Xieng Khuang province and a project official, Dr Bounsay Nuanthasy, told Vientiane Times “Aside from the 82 billion kip required to build the new hospital, the rest of the money will be used to provide essential medical facilities. Lao staff will learn the necessary professional skills from their Vietnamese counterparts so they can run the hospital efficiently.”
According to the provincial Health Department, the existing provincial hospital in Paek district has 100 beds but this number is insufficient to cope with patient needs.
Vietnam’s assistance will double the number of beds, in addition to the province’s six healthcare centres which each have 25 beds.
Xieng Khuang province, Laos and Vietnam have agreed to cooperate in the sharing of medical skills until 2020. Some Lao staff have undergone training in Vietnam and Vietnamese staff have received training in Laos.
The Vietnamese government has not only provided a grant to build the hospital in Xieng Khuang province, but has also provided a grant to build a hospital and support professional skills training in Huaphan province.
Work on the hospital in Huaphan is making good progress and the building is 25 percent complete after construction began in June 2018. Completion is expected at the end of this year, according to the province’s Planning and Investment Department.
Huaphan authorities say the hospital will be a boost for the health sector and socio-economic development. It will be able to treat more patients and offer better facilities for local communities.
Upon completion, provincial authorities will transfer healthcare services from the existing hospital to the new facility. The current hospital will then be used as a medical training centre.

By Keoviengkhone Bounviseth
(Latest Update February 1, 2019)