Hundreds of thousands of people have received health checkups and consultations in their own communities. However, as demand for screening and early detection of diseases continues to grow, limitations in equipment and staffing at grassroots healthcare facilities are creating an urgent need for appropriate solutions to improve healthcare services at the level closest to the people.

At a free health checkup site in Ten village, Mường Thanh ward, Ngô Thị Ngân had her blood pressure measured, received a general medical examination and was given health advice. Being able to receive a checkup close to home is convenient for local residents, particularly older people.

However, Ngân said that if such outreach medical visits were equipped with additional diagnostic equipment, health examinations would be more comprehensive.

“We really hope that these medical checkup programs can be equipped with more advanced equipment, such as blood testing facilities, so that we can have our health conditions diagnosed right here instead of having to travel to higher-level medical facilities,” Ngân said.

The needs expressed by local residents show that when the goal is to screen for and detect diseases at an early stage, paraclinical techniques need to be gradually brought closer to the people. This remains a limitation at many commune- and ward-level health stations today.

At the Thanh Nưa commune Health Station, equipment for hematology, blood biochemistry and urine testing has yet to be provided. The station also lacks diagnostic imaging equipment, an electrocardiogram (ECG) machine and a mobile X-ray machine.

As a result, patients requiring more specialized examinations must either be referred to higher-level facilities or have their specimens collected and sent to facilities with the necessary testing capabilities.

Of the more than 28,900 people living in the commune, just over 10,900 have so far received free medical examinations, treatment and health consultations, equivalent to nearly 38% of the population. This figure shows that, alongside expanding coverage, strengthening the capacity for health screening at the grassroots level is an issue that needs greater attention if residents are to have full and convenient access to health examinations in their local communities.

Dr. Phạm Bá Đạt of the Thanh Nưa commune Health Station said: “The biggest difficulty facing the station is the lack of equipment for diagnostic testing. Patients who need more in-depth examinations have to be referred to higher-level facilities. This is one of the reasons why health screening for local residents remains limited.”

Equipment is not the only challenge; staffing is another major bottleneck for grassroots healthcare. In densely populated areas, healthcare workers must maintain regular operations at their stations while also participating in community-based medical checkups.

The Mường Thanh ward Health Station has 17 staff members, including four doctors, providing healthcare services to more than 24,000 residents. When the station organizes centralized or mobile medical examinations, its staff must be divided among multiple tasks at the same time.

Mai Thị Phương, a physician at the Mường Thanh ward Health Station, said: “Our staffing is currently quite limited, making it difficult to meet demand when we have to provide examinations at the station while also taking part in mobile medical checkups. At the same time, staff members have many other responsibilities. As a result, large-scale medical checkups can be very demanding.”

The situation at local healthcare facilities shows that comprehensive investment in mobile health checkups remains challenging. The province currently has 17 medical examination and treatment facilities that meet the regulatory requirements for conducting health checkups.

However, nine facilities do not have mobile X-ray machines, while eight have such machines but lack specialized vehicles that meet radiation safety requirements for mobile X-ray services. This has resulted in uneven capacity to provide more specialized diagnostic techniques in local communities.

Under these circumstances, the Điện Biên health sector has adopted a flexible approach, combining the capacity of grassroots healthcare facilities with support from higher-level medical institutions.

Compact and easily transportable equipment, such as portable ultrasound machines and electrocardiogram machines, can be brought to local facilities for mobile medical checkups. For tests that cannot be performed at commune- or ward-level health stations, specimens are collected locally and transported to facilities with appropriate laboratory systems.

Phạm Văn Mẫn, Deputy Director of the Department of Health, said: “For mobile medical checkups at health stations or in communities, we prioritize bringing equipment that can be transported to local facilities to perform necessary diagnostic examinations. For tests that cannot be conducted at the grassroots level, the organizing unit collects specimens and sends them to an appropriate testing facility or guides residents to the nearest medical examination and treatment facility. This approach is both suited to actual conditions and ensures professional standards are met.”

From January 1 to August 8, 2026, health facilities across the province provided free medical examinations, treatment and health consultations to 459,309 people, equivalent to 67.73% of the population.

These figures show that the program is steadily expanding access to healthcare for local residents. However, increasing the number of people receiving examinations is only the first step. The long-term value of the program lies in its ability to detect diseases early and provide health advice, follow-up care and health management at the grassroots level.

To achieve this, alongside flexible short-term solutions, there is an urgent need to invest in appropriate diagnostic equipment, strengthen professional capacity and reinforce staffing at grassroots healthcare facilities.