HCM CITY — The HCM City Department of Health on Thursday instructed the top public obstetrics and paediatrics hospitals to expand the training they provide doctors at lower-level health facilities including private hospitals.

Assoc Prof Dr Tăng Chí Thượng, the department’s deputy head, told Việt Nam News this was because “At many private health facilities’ obstetrics and paediatric departments, doctors still use outdated protocols for treatment.”

They should also know about the Red Alert Emergency procedure to seek assistance from leading public hospitals, namely Từ Dũ, Hùng Vương, Paediatrics Hospital 1 and 2, in case they have to treat severe cases, he said.

The procedure works well, he added.

Assoc Prof Dr Huỳnh Nguyễn Khánh Trang of Hùng Vương Hospital cited the example of early detection and treatment of pre-eclampsia in pregnant women, saying doctors at many hospitals in the city and elsewhere in the south lack the capability for this.

“Early detection and treatment of pre-eclampsia in pregnant women helps reduce mortality,” he said, adding it is the second leading cause of maternal mortality globally.

Thượng of the Department of Health said the major hospitals are relying on IT to provide the training easily and effectively.

Dr Nguyễn Bá Mỹ Nhi, deputy director of HCM City’s Từ Dũ Hospital, told a conference in the city on Thursday that her hospital uses training software called Zoom Cloud Meeting, which facilitates easy access for obstetric and paediatric health staff at the provincial and grassroots levels.

It also uses ZOOM.US for remote discussion and recommendations for treatment, she said.

“Professional knowledge and advanced techniques have to be updated constantly in the health sector. The software is useful for training.”

Obstetric and paediatric health workers can download the software and connect it to their smartphones, and can also access the hospital’s website for training. — VNS