Hospitals prepared for busy Tet week

Hospitals in Ha Noi have announced that they are ready to care for patients during the upcoming Tet holiday, which will last for nine days beginning this Saturday.—VNA/VNS photo Huu Oai

HA NOI (VNS)— Hospitals in Ha Noi have announced that they are ready to care for patients during the upcoming Tet holiday, which will last for nine days beginning this Saturday.

Bach Mai Hospital, one of the biggest in the city, has estimated that it will have about 1,000 patients staying to continue their medical treatment during the holiday.

The hospital management board has asked 13 wards to maintain regular examinations and treatment of their patients.

Procedures for moving patients to other hospitals when necessary have been simplified to avoid disruption for patients and their families, according to a directive sent to staff.

More than 200 doctors, nurses and other employees will be on duty all day in the hospital during the holiday and its pharmacies will also be open 24 hours a day, it announced on its website.

Paramedics and bacterial contamination control teams will be on stand-by as and when they are needed.

The hospital plans to deliver 800 presents, worth VND90,000 (US$4.2) each for patients.

Meanwhile, Pham Manh Than, head of the Saint Paul Hospital's Planning and General Office, said his hospital was ready to provide emergency services for all possible cases.

Names and telephone numbers of doctors, nurses and head staff on call during the holiday have been put up in different wards in case they are needed, he said.

The director of the National Institute of Haematology and Blood Transfusion, Nguyen Anh Tri, said that the biggest obstacle facing the institute during the holiday is blood shortage.

"We need blood for more than 100 patients staying in the institute during the holiday and also have to supply blood to 130 hospitals in 15 provinces and cities. This means we are encountering a lot of difficulties in collecting the amount we need from donors," said Tri.

In the past two weeks the institute has organised a number of donation events, including Red Sunday which fell on January 20 and the Blood Donation Festival last Tuesday.

Over 3,000 young people participated in the first campaign and around 1,000 units of blood were collected.

"The number of young people who registered to donate blood exceeded our expectations, but some worries still remain," said Tri.

The country needs around 4,500 units of blood daily for emergencies and treatment. The blood bank only meets between 30-40 per cent of nation's demand at all times and only 10-15 per cent during the Tet period, he added.

Meanwhile, the Ha Noi Department of Health has asked the city's preventive medicine centres to be alert around the clock for possible epidemics and disease. Medical stations and maternity clinics have been requested to have medical workers on duty all day and night. — VNS