The app, being developed by the city's 115 Emergency Centre, will enable users to see an ambulance's location and estimated arrival time, while connecting them with doctors or emergency specialists for remote first-aid instructions.
Nguyen Duy Long, director of the 115 Emergency Centre, said the city currently receives about 1,500 emergency calls a day, although only around 10 per cent require ambulance dispatch.
He said ambulance response times have been reduced to about 15 minutes in urban areas but remain longer in outlying areas because of greater travel distances.
The app is intended to improve public confidence in the emergency system and encourage more people to call 115 instead of travelling to hospital on their own, Long said.
The city also plans to expand its out-of-hospital emergency network, strengthen emergency capabilities at local health stations and work towards international response standards of under eight minutes in urban areas and under 15 minutes in rural areas.
