As of September 1, 2025, Son La province had 5,294 medical personnel, including doctors, pharmacists, and nurses, working at 75 commune health stations and 125 healthcare points under district and regional health centres.

The province’s doctor-to-population ratio stood at 8.98 per 10,000 people, and the pharmacist ratio at 1.3 per 10,000 people, both below the national average. Currently, 97.33% of commune and ward health stations have at least one doctor on staff.

On October 30, 2025, the provincial People’s Committee issued a decision to transfer the management of 75 commune health stations and 125 healthcare points from regional health centres to commune-level People’s Committees.

In the first ten months of 2025, medical facilities across the province provided health examinations to 1,376,619 patients. The health insurance coverage rate reached 92.7% as of September 30, with a target of 96.2% by the end of the year.

The province recorded 11 disease outbreaks this year, including 10 with a sharp increase in cases compared to 2024, totaling 1,518 infections. Three outbreaks remain active, including a hand-foot-mouth disease outbreak in Thuan Chau. Other infectious diseases are generally under control, though the risk of resurgence remains.

At the meeting, leaders of the Department of Health and affiliated units reported several challenges, including outdated medical equipment and limited investment capital; deteriorating infrastructure at some commune health stations; limited quality of primary healthcare services; and shortages of qualified medical personnel, both in quantity and expertise, falling short of growing healthcare needs.

They proposed that the provincial People’s Committee allocate annual training quotas for state-sponsored medical students; issue incentive policies to attract and retain high-quality medical professionals; adjust financial autonomy levels for provincial and regional hospitals and specialized centres; and provide additional funding to upgrade and renovate healthcare facilities to meet local people’s increasing medical demands.

Concluding the session, Standing Vice Chairman Chien urged the health sector to continue reviewing, consolidating, and transferring health stations to local governments for management; implement policies to attract and train doctors, including specialized and advanced medical training; and improve the quality of healthcare across all three levels - provincial, district, and commune.

They were also asked to strengthen state management in preventive healthcare; focus on investing in infrastructure and medical equipment to ensure efficient operation of regional health centers and stronger coordination between provincial and grassroots facilities; and review and streamline organisational structures and enhance staff capacity to meet requirements an tasks in the new development phase.