Medical staff from Giảng Võ Ward's mobile medical unit take part in a drill, in which they must care for a COVID-19 patient at home.— Photo soyte.hanoi.gov.vn

HÀ NỘI — Authorities in Hà Nội have ordered the establishment of 508 mobile medical units, including 20 units to serve industrial parks and processing zones, after a sharp rise in cases in the capital city. 

Under the instruction of the Ministry of Health, the mobile medical units are tasked with managing COVID-19 patients who are self-monitoring, taking samples of people for testing, providing vaccinations and disseminating information on pandemic prevention and control. They will also examine, treat and provide medicine for local people with other illnesses and diseases.

It is hoped that the deployment of mobile medical units across the city will contribute to pandemic prevention and control in the city. 

In Đông Anh District, the chairman of the People’s Committee of the district, Nguyễn Xuân Linh, said that the district has always considered pandemic prevention and control an urgent priority.

The district has implemented many solutions to prevent and control the pandemic, including the operation of the mobile medical units, he added.

Linh said the committee has 29 mobile medical units, including in the Thăng Long Industrial Park and other industrial centres in the district, to ensure each commune has at least one mobile medical unit.

The mobile medical unit in Thăng Long Industrial Park has been operational since late October. It is equipped with essential equipment including medicines, hospital beds, oxygen tanks and breathing masks, he said.

There are five medical staff working at the unit, he added.

The mobile medical unit will help workers in the industrial park quickly access medical care if needed. It can handle workers with symptoms of COVID-19 and provide COVID-19 rapid tests.

Doctors from Đông Anh District’s General Hospital, as well as medical staff from companies in the industrial park, have been mobilised to work at the mobile medical unit.

In Ba Đình District, 14 wards have now established mobile medical units. Each unit has at least five medical staff each. The People's Committee of Thanh Xuân District has set up medical units in all 11 wards. 

Ngô Phương, a doctor working at Thanh Xuân Trung Ward’s mobile medical unit, said the establishment of mobile medical units is vital at the moment. They will help to reduce the risk of hospitals being overloaded in the city.

Drills

Many mobile medical units, which have recently been activated in the city, have organised drills that cover a range of hypothetical situations, including a rise in cases in residential areas and industrial zones.

During the drills, the units practised managing, monitoring and taking care of COVID-19 patients, responses to workers of industrial zones showing symptoms of COVID-19 and treating confirmed COVID-19 patients with severe developments. The drills also covered how to provide medical examination and treatment for people with other illnesses.

After observing the drills, the deputy director of the city’s health department, Trần Văn Chung, said that although the units had been set up in a short space of time, they are fully equipped with enough human and medical resources.

However, Chung also added that the mobile units should quickly compile regulations of work, assigning specific tasks to each member of the medical staff to ensure the effectiveness of the units. 

The units also need to publicise their hotlines to make sure that they are easily contactable by the general public. 

According to data from the Hà Nội Department of Health, between 6pm on November 8 and 6pm on November 9, there were 222 new cases in the city, including 105 community cases. This is the highest daily number of cases that Hà Nội has recorded since the start of the pandemic. — VNS