GE helps training Vietnamese medical workers

The course focused on LEAN principles applied in hospital management to strengthen the skills and competencies of hospital staff.

LEAN is a methodology that encourages hospital staff to work together to improve the efficiency of their processes by eliminating waste without the requirement of extra resources. Hospitals operating to LEAN principles benefit from improved efficiency, better employee engagement and financial performance. This streamlining also affords more time for patient care. 

GE LEAN principles have been applied in hospitals around the world and have been successful in improving operational and financial performances as well as staff retention rates.  Last year, GE’s first LEAN training in hospitals in the Mekong Delta’s Dong Thap province received positive feedback from senior managers.

This year’s training programme was attended by senior-level managers including leaders from the Ministry of Health, university lecturers, and members of the board of management from hospitals such as Viet Duc Hospital, the Central Pediatric Hospital and the Central Obstetric Hospital. The programme will be split into two stages. First, GE personnel teach selected trainees until they are qualified to be trainers. Once they have mastered the initial training, they will be able to move onto the second stage and spread the message of LEAN. 

This training is also part of the company’s initiative to address the need for healthcare education and capacity building across ASEAN. GE Healthcare in ASEAN recently launched the GE ASEAN Healthcare Learning Institute (‘AHLI’), a virtual academy in collaboration with renowned healthcare professionals and leading healthcare providers within the region and globally, AHLI offers clinical, technical and leadership education.  These trainings include online, classroom as well as immersion programmes.

“We are proud to deliver GE LEAN training in Vietnam’s hospitals. As part of the dual-stage training initiative, LEAN principles will be applied on a wider scale to address concerns in local hospital management, help contribute to upholding the quality of healthcare services and offer better access for patients,” said Tran Anh Tuan, country manager of GE Healthcare in Vietnam.

The LEAN approach to improving Vietnam’s hospital system is one of the commitments made by GE following the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the company and Vietnam’s Ministry of Health  in August 2012. The MOU, which was witnessed by GE chairman and chief executive Jeffrey Immelt and, Vietnam’s Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Kim Tien, is part of GE’s “In-country, For-country” (ICFC) initiative, which focuses on improving local innovation and building products, resources and technology for local needs. The goal is to develop products that are tailored specifically to Vietnam’s conditions and actual needs.

GE was one of the first American companies established in Vietnam during 1993 even before the US Embargo was lifted. GE first set up a representative office in Hanoi in 1993, and subsequently in Ho Chi Minh City in 2001, working in partnership with local organisations. In 2003, GE established GE Vietnam Ltd, a 100 per cent GE capital investment that offers a wide range of after-sales services in the fields of medical, electrical and energy equipment.