The construction of the Tbong Khmum Cambodia-China Friendship Hospital in Tbong Khmum province is scheduled to be completed at the end of this month, with its opening planned for early next year.
Officials said the new hospital would serve people better as it is equipped with modern medical technology that has not previously been available in Tbong Khmum and neighbouring provinces.
The hospital was built at a cost of more than $50 million and funded by a Chinese grant. It is located in Srolob commune’s Nikum Leu village of Tbong Khmum district.
Ek Kheang, director of the hospital, said it consists of eight buildings with five floors each. The buildings house departments for gynecology, pediatrics, general medicine, administration and a dormitory.
Provincial health department director Keo Vannak told The Post on November 15 that the construction started in March 2019 and the provincial administration plans to put them into use in early 2022.
He said that while the buildings nears completion, the hospital is also setting up a commission for human resources to recruit health officials from various institutions across the country.
“We plan to equip this hospital with 300 beds and we have a lot of skilled positions to fill. What is concerning is that in Tbong Khmum province we don’t have enough skilled medical workers to staff the hospital yet,” he said. “We will strive to develop our existing human resources and recruit additional help.”
According to Vannak, the hospital will provide multiple technical services.
“When we do the full launch of the hospital we need to do it according to standards and we hope that this will improve the health sector in Tbong Khmum province. We not only serve residents of Tbong Khmum province, we also serve other people in the northeastern provinces that border us,” he said.
He said the department had also prepared a budget request package for the hospital from the government as part of the province’s annual appropriations.
Srey Len, a resident of Tbong Khmum province, said the provision of health services at this new hospital would be better since the existing facilities did not have the capacity to serve the population presently and that it would make medical care more convenient since they would not have to travel all the way to Phnom Penh.
