Phạm Thanh Hải examines a pregnant woman in the hospital.— Photo tienphong.vn

HÀ NỘI — Tết (Lunar New Year) is a time for families to get together and celebrate up and down Viet Nam, but not for medical workers.

Phạm Diễm Kiều, a midwife of Obstetrics Department, HCM City–based Từ Dũ Hospital has worked on the eve of Tết eight times.

Kiều, who has worked for the hospital for 30 years, said the Lunar New Year’s Eve shift always brought unforgettable emotions.

“It changes from the emotion of a little bit of sadness because of not being with my nearest and dearest for Lunar New Year’s Eve to the boundless happiness of welcoming babies born when the Lunar New Year’s fireworks burst into the sky,” she said.

Kiều said her family had not all been together for Lunar New Year’s Eve for the past 30 years. Her police officer works the Lunar New Year’s Eve when she's off, while Kiều works when he has the night off so someone is always home with their children.

This made her a little bit sad, she said, but seeing a baby come into the world dispelled all sadness, she added.

Kiều said she could not remember how many babies she had delivered over the past 30 years, Tiền Phong (Vanguard) online newspaper reported.

“It might be a large number,” she added.

There are many doctors and nurses who work hard to take care of others on each Lunar New Year’s Eve.

Nguyễn Mai Hằng, another midwife, said the most memorable memory was delivering a baby for a pregnant woman who almost gave birth on the back of her husband's motorbike on the way to the hospital.

“When I asked her why she came to the hospital late, the pregnant woman said she didn't want to give birth before Lunar New Year’s Eve, so she tried to wait until the eve passed but she failed. She felt too painful and the baby very nearly came out. She had to go to the hospital,” she said.

Hằng also shared that she burst into tears the first time she had to work on Lunar New Year’s Eve. The three-day shift lasted from the last day of the old year to the second day of the new year in the lunar calendar. 

“I cried because I miss my family so much that time,” she said.

Phạm Thanh Hải, a doctor of the hospital’s Obstetrics Department, said he began working at the hospital in 2004. That was also the first year he was assigned to work on Lunar New Year’s Eve.

“That was the first time I worked the Lunar New Year’s Eve shift, I was very eager,” he recalled.

Hải said he was very happy when he saw healthy mothers delivered healthy babies during his shift.

“The cry of new-born babies and the sound of fireworks made the Lunar New Year’s Eve more meaningful,” he said. 

Ready to serve patients during Tết

Nearly 3,000 doctors, nurses and medical staff in hospitals in Hà Nội will work during Tết following the direction of the Ministry of Health.

Lương Ngọc Khuê, director general of the ministry’s Medical Examination and Treatment Department, said the ministry had directed hospitals, especially central-level hospitals, to assign doctors and nurses to work 24 hours to promptly deal with emergencies during Tết.

Lê Ngọc Thành, director of E Hospital in Cầu Giấy District, said the hospital had arranged teams of doctors to deal with patients with diabetes, high blood pressure and heart-related diseases, who might suffer complications because they forget to take their pills during Tết.

Trần Bình Giang, head of the Việt Nam – Germany Friendship Hospital, said the hospital received many victims of tragic accidents during Tết every year, therefore, the hospital’s emergency system and operation rooms were ready 24 hours a day.

There would be a team of doctors on duty at all times to consult doctors of hospitals at province and district levels for difficult surgeries, he said.

Doctors and nurses of the National Hospital of Paediatrics are also ready to serve children during Tết. The hospital will operate examination services to serve the demand of patients, said Trần Minh Điển, deputy director of the hospital.

Director of the city’s Health Department Nguyễn Khắc Hiền said the department would randomly check emergency teams on duty during Tết at local hospitals.

If people find a doctor or a nurse who is on duty but is not working or is causing trouble for patients, people could contact the health department hotline: 02439985765. Based on the complaints, the doctor or nurse could receive discipline, he said. — VNS