A patient is being treated in Tân Hưng Medical Centre in Long An Province. — VNA/VNS Photo

LONG AN — For the last 30 years, medical staff in Tân Hưng District in Long An Province on the Cambodian border have been striving to turn difficulties into advantages.

Their professional capacity, dedication and enthusiasm have engendered trust and love for them among locals.

Dr Nguyễn Văn Del, director of the Tân Hưng District Medical Centre, has been working in the border area since he graduated in 1992.

Since then, he and his family have devoted themselves to the well-being of local people.

After studying surgery at the HCM City University of Medicine and Pharmacy, he returned to his hometown to contribute to what was then called Vĩnh Hưng District.

In 1994, the district was divided and he was assigned to work at the Tân Hưng District Medical Centre.

He became its deputy director in 1996, and director in 2006.

His wife and two daughters are all doctors and work at the centre.

Dr Nguyễn Âu Thanh Thy, 28, is his younger daughter and works at the centre’s department of general internal medicine.

Graduating in internal medicine from the Cần Thơ University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Thy chose to return to Tân Hưng District and work at the medical centre with her parents.

"Since I was young, my parents wanted me to become a doctor and told me to study hard to follow their path,” Thy tells baotintuc.vn.

“From a young age, I was able to go in and out of the medical centre and see my parents work, and I really liked their job.

“From then on, I tried my best to pass the medical school entrance exam.

“My sister, Nguyễn Âu Thanh Trúc, 29, and I both studied chemistry in high school in Long An High School for the Gifted. We both passed the entrance exams to both polytechnics and medical schools, but we both chose to study at the Cần Thơ Medical University and both came here to work.”

Family of Dr Nguyễn Văn Del, director of the Tân Hưng Medical Centre. — VNA/VNS Photo

Thy's joy and sense of responsibility in providing healthcare to local people shine through.

“Here, people don't have much money. When providing medical care for them, our biggest priority is reducing treatment cost but offering effective treatment.

“Doctors’ incomes here are not high but we are all very pleased and happy. In future, I will study for a PhD to take better care of people's health.”

Dr Trúc, her sister, says simply: “My joy is seeing patients healthy and discharged from the hospital.

“Fortunately, our family has a tradition of practising medicine, and everyone has a common interest and mutual understanding so we can easily share opinions at work.”

Nguyễn Thị Danh of the district’s Vĩnh Thạnh Commune takes care of her 92-year-old mother-in-law, who suffers from colon bleeding.

She said her family had previously taken her mother-in-law to a private hospital in the southern Đồng Tháp Province.

“Then, due to our difficult circumstances, I had to bring her for treatment at the Tân Hưng Medical Centre.

“Here, my mother-in-law was properly examined by a doctor and it was covered by health insurance. So the family is very secure.”

Over 30 years, the Tân Hưng District health sector has achieved positive results and made an important contribution to caring for and improving people's health.

It has consistently achieved all its targets and plans, and increasingly meets the needs of the local people.

Del has always perceived that diagnosis and treatment capacity depend on personnel.

Therefore, since its establishment, the centre has always focused on training human resources and soliciting for investment in facilities and equipment.

When the district was created, the Tân Hưng Medical Centre had only four doctors; it now has 68.

The district has a class 3 hospital with 240 beds, 21 departments and equipment for CT scans, 3D/4D colour ultrasound, endoscopy of the stomach and colon, high-rise X-rays, biochemical and haematological tests.

In the district, commune-level health stations are also trusted by the public.

The clinic in Hưng Điền B Commune for instance gets an average of 70-150 patients a day.

Its chief, Dr Nguyễn Tấn Phong, said besides treating local people, his medical team also has to carry out preventive works and national health programmes.

In recent years, the clinic has invested in equipment and facilities, and regularly provides training for its personnel, and so examination and treatment have improved significantly, he said.

It has two specialists and a midwife, pharmacist and nurse, he said.

Born in the province’s Đức Huệ District, Phong applied to work at the Hưng Điền B Clinic after completing university in 1995, and was appointed as the head of the clinic few years later.

Surmounting all difficulties to serve people in remote areas gives him great satisfaction.

Its medical personnel constantly strive to improve their expertise, especially in the treatment of common ailments such as soft tissue injury, cough, runny nose, respiratory infection, digestive disorder, hypertension, and diabetes, and have thus gained the trust of locals, he says.

“The expertise and dedication of the doctors and the enthusiastic attitude of all the personnel have made people confident about coming to the clinic for examination and treatment." — VNS