A COVID-19 screening room at Trung Vuong Hospital in HCM City (Source: www.medinet.hochiminhcity.gov.vn/)The plan isbeing made because of pandemic developments including new variants andoutbreaks globally.
The departmentwill continue to use available personnel and facilities at designated hospitalsfor treatment of COVID-19 patients.
Thesehospitals include Cu Chi COVID-19 Treatment Hospital with 300 beds, Can GioCOVID-19 Treatment Hospital with 600 beds, HCM City Hospital for TropicalDiseases with 40 beds at its Department for Transmissible Diseases D, and theCity Children’s Hospital and Children’s Hospital 2.
Thesehospitals will be ready to increase the number of beds to admit COVID-19patients and others suspected of having COVID-19 if an outbreak occurs.
If thehospitals become overloaded, the department will use Pham Ngoc Thach Hospital’s464 beds to admit COVID-19 patients.
The departmenthas instructed hospitals in the city to prepare doctors and nurses to beavailable for examination and treatment of COVID-19 patients if necessary.
These doctorsand nurses will have to receive training in professional knowledge ontreatment and control of infections, and ensure safety for medicalstaff as well as patients.
Last year, theCu Chi COVID-19 Treatment Hospital and Can Gio COVID-19 Treatment Hospitalwere the two main health facilities isolating and treating COVID-19patients and suspected cases. This was done to help reduce pressure andrisk of transmission at city hospitals.
The hospitals’doctors and nurses came from other hospitals in the city and worked ona rotation system.
The departmenthas also instructed the 115 Emergency Centre to continue carrying out its taskof transporting COVID-19 patients to designated hospitals for treatment.
Hospitals havehelped the city Centre for Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC) totake samples for testing at Tan Son Nhat airport, and bus and railwaystations.
Besides the PasteurInstitute and the CDC, tests are conducted by the HCM City Hospitalfor Tropical Diseases, Children’s Hospital 1, City Children’s Hospital, and PhamNgoc Thach, Nguyen Tri Phuong, District 2, Thu Duc, FV, Gia An 115 and Hoan MySai Gon hospitals, as well as several hospitals owned by the Ministry ofHealth and other agencies.
This year,more hospitals in the city will be assessed for their capacity toconduct COVID-19 tests.
The departmenthas instructed hospitals to prepare medicine, chemicals and protectiveclothes as well as equipment for their medical staff when they are calledfor emergencies.
It has alsorequired all hospitals and health facilities to review and assess safetycriteria in COVID-19 prevention and control. They have been ordered to asktheir patients to fill out online health declarations.
Since February5, when online health declarations began at hospitals and health centresin the city, 127 private and public healthcare facilities have used thedepartment’s health declaration application.
By March 8,all hospital and health centre in the city will have to use the application.
According tothe department, hospitals should offer training courses for theirdoctors and nurses in screening, isolating and taking samples for tests,and treatment guidelines related to COVID-19 issued by the Ministryof Health.
Hospitals havealso been instructed to take samples for testing all of their staff byMarch 10.
Following theMinistry of Health’s requirement, the department is collaborating with Cho RayHospital to set up an expert team specialising in COVID-19 treatment to assistother hospitals that admit severely ill COVID-19 patients whoneed emergency treatment./.
VNA
