As the Covid-19 pandemic drags on, medical facilities need to ensure utmost safety, Zing.vn quoted Dr. Luong Ngoc Khue, head of the Administration of Medical Examination and Treatment under the Ministry of Health, as saying at a recent inspection to two high-risk hospitals in Hanoi.

According to Dr. Khue, two hospitals specializing in lung and kidney diseases in Hanoi are treating patients who will be vulnerable if acquiring contracting coronavirus. In fact, of the eleven Covid-19 deaths in Danang, Vietnam’s biggest epicenter now, most of them were with chronic kidney failure, pneumonia and other chronic illnesses.

Dr. Luong Ngoc Khue and the Ministry of Health’s inspection team check two high-risk hospitals in Hanoi.

The Hanoi Lung Hospital provides medical checkups to over 100 patients a day. It also treats patients with tuberculosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary, multi-resistant tuberculosis, among other illnesses. Thus, the hospital needs to closely supervise and manage its patients, said Dr. Khue.

The Hanoi Kidney Hospital currently treats 444 hemodialysis patients with underlying diseases (for example, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes) and 517 patients with chronic kidney. Meanwhile, most of the dialysis machines are old. Currently, 77 machines are fully operated from three to four shifts per day.

Checking the safety criteria would reveal gaps that need to be addressed in time, as well as preventing, isolating and transferring patients in a timely and effective manner.

The Ministry of Health’s inspection team also checked Dolife International Hospital. Dr. Khue suggested that the hospital should pay attention to the ventilation system for the patient's chamber.

He added that medical facilities have to learn from the disease outbreaks at Hong Ngoc General Hospital, Bach Mai Hospital, Hanoi Kidney Hospital in order to not repeat the same mistakes made by these health centers.

Khue also suggested that Hanoi’s hospitals need to improve their Covid-19 testing capacity in order to be ready to cope with the pandemic.

Hanoi hospitals curb admissions

Hanoi hospitals are strengthening Covid-19 prevention measures, monitoring hospital admissions and recommending patients that they should be cared for by only on family member and should not receive visitors.

Quarantine area at the Center for Tropical Diseases under the Hanoi-based Bach Mai Hospital.

Hospitals across the country are now highly vunerable to Covid-19. Four hospitals in Danang city had to be closed, more than 10 medical staffers were infected, and 15 Covid-19 patients died. From Danang experience, hospitals in Hanoi need to tighten up control of visits and apply safety measures.

"With only one patient being infected with coronavirus, a the hospital would be at risk of being closed," Dr. Khue stressed.

At the Hanoi-based Bach Mai Hospital, Dr. Nguyen Viet Hung, head of the Department of Infection Control, said that his hospital’s primary goal is to prevent cross-contagion among medical staff, patients, caregivers, and related people in the hospital.

Dr. Le Van Quang, director of the Hanoi K (Cancer) Hospital and head of the hospital's Covid 19 prevention steering committee, asked the patients and their family members to report online before going to the hospital. The hospital has built a website at https://www.khaibaoyte-bvk.com and requested patients to make online medical declarations through it.

"Online medical declaration is not only compulsory for the patient, family members, and visitors to the hospital, but 100% of health workers must also take it seriously. Those failing to declare would not be allowed to enter the hospital," Dr. Quang emphasized.