National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan and leaders of Hanoi visited the hi-tech centre in Hanoi on November 27.
The Hanoi Hi-Tech Digestive Centre has been put into operation after seven months of construction. It is Hanoi’s first centre with medical standards on par with those of advanced countries and employing the latest technologies available in Vietnam.
The facility consists of twelve clinics and three operating rooms equipped with modern equipment, including an operating room fully integrated with a camera system capable of international connection and consultation, along with seven endoscopic surgery and diagnosis systems.Total investment in the facility exceeded VND400 billion (US$17.6 million), sourced from non-profit social capital contributed by major banks and enterprises in Hanoi.
In addition to its modern equipment, Chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee Nguyen Duc Chung convinced a group of leading professors in the gastrointestinal field, led by Dr. Joël Leroy, a top laparoscopic surgeon, to offer expert advice and assistance with surgeries at the facility.
With support from leading experts, the centre’s effective operations are expected to help ensure good healthcare and early cancer detection while reducing the number of patients travelling abroad for treatment and facilitating the implementation of training programmes on the latest medical technologies and transferring such technologies to other hospitals.
Speaking at the inauguration, Chairman Chung announced that after six months of negotiations with Japanese firm Nagase, Hanoi had bought home a digestive cancer screening system that could provide early detection of digestive cancers in people aged 40 and above.
Patients would have to only pay VND63,000 (US$2.8) for a service fee each time, as stipulated by the Ministry of Health, compared to US$15 in Singapore or US$26 in the US, he added.
If the system could operate efficiently with a capacity of 320 tests per hour, around 5,000-10,000 cases of cancer could be prevented each year in the city, while thousands of patients would be provided with early detection and treatment of cancer, Hanoi’s leader stressed.
Also at the ceremony, the Hanoi authorities awarded the title of Honorary Citizen to French professors Joël Leroy and Frédéric Bretagnol for their contributions to the capital city’s medical sector. Collectives and individuals who had made positive contributions to the project were also honoured at the ceremony.
