Bach mai hospital

The Hanoitimes – Hanoi-based Bach Mai Hospital is considered a big and dangerous Covid-19 outbreak.

Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam has called for mobilization of all resources to stamp out Covid-19 at Bach Mai Hospital in Hanoi, one of the largest of its kind in Vietnam, VnExpress reported.

At an online meeting on March 28, Dam said this was “a very important task” in the coming days and called on the Ministry of Health, Hanoi’s government and Bach Mai Hospital to use all resources to carry out the mission.

Bach Mai Hospital is under lockdown from March 28. Photo: Giang Huy

“Stamping out Covid-19 outbreaks is crucial when it has spread to the community,” Dam said, adding that Vietnam has done a good job in containing Covid-19 outbreaks in provinces of Vinh Phuc and Binh Thuan, and promptly isolating passengers arrived on Vietnam Airlines flight VN0054.

However, two new coronavirus outbreaks in the country, the Buddha bar in Ho Chi Minh City with 13 Covid-19 patients and Bach Mai Hospital with 16, need to be handled with, the deputy PM stressed.

He requested to draw up a list of all people who had been to the hospital since March 12. Localities whose residents had been to Bach Mai hospital must take stronger measures to deal with those cases, Dam said.

For his part, Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Truong Son said Bach Mai Hospital is considered a big and dangerous Covid-19 outbreak. His ministry has set up a special task force to carry out an epidemiological investigations in the hospital.

All medical staff and patients in the hospital have been quarantined and taken samples. The hospital has also suspended admission of new patients and remained isolated since March 29. The Vietnamese Chemical Army disinfected the entire hospital on March 28 evening.

Bach Mai Hospital is a large healthcare institution and with 10,000-15,000 people visiting every day, the infection can spread not only from patients and medical workers, but also from their relatives, taxi drivers, goods deliverers, among others. Therefore, not only Bach Mai but other hospitals are facing a high risk of infection, Son noted.

He added that doctors and medical staff quarantined at Bach Mai Hospital keep treating inpatients with sufficient equipment and medical supplies provided by the Health Ministry.

Epidemiologists are continuing to investigate the sources of infection from professional patient caregivers at Bach Mai Hospital. Additionally, it is necessary to access the health insurance database to localize and identify people making contact with Covid-19 patients.

As of March 29, Vietnam has reported 188 Covid-19 infection cases in 24 cities and provinces, of them 21 have been cured and discharged from hospital.

The Hanoitimes – The Central Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Hanoi had treated a number of seriously ill Covid-19 patients and its staff are now willing to share their experiences with Danang.

Danang city, which is now the largest epicenter of Covid-19 in Vietnam, has welcomed dozens of doctors, nurses, and all forms of support from other localities nationwide, including Hanoi, in its fierce battle against the Covid-19 outbreak, local media reported.

The coastal city, which has recorded over 200 active infections, has struggled with a shortage of medical staff as many local doctors, nurses, and medical technicians are in full or partial isolation while three hospitals and medical facilities in the city have been placed on lockdown due to connections with coronavirus patients, according to the Ministry of Health.

A group of experts from Hanoi arrive in Danang to assist the city in the quarantining process. Photo: Duong Hai

On July 31, a group of experts from Hanoi arrived in Danang to assist the city in the quarantining process.

Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam requested all functional forces, especially health units, the army and the police to raise their awareness and stand ready to respond to evolution of the pandemic in the epicenter.

On August 3 afternoon, two experts from the Central Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Hanoi, including its Deputy Director Dr. Nguyen Trung Cap, and Deputy Head of the Department of Positive Recovery Dr. Dong Phu Khiem left for the central city.

Dr. Nguyen Trung Cap said that the Central Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Hanoi had treated a number of seriously ill Covid-19 patients and its staff are now willing to share their experiences with Danang.

“We hope to pass those experience to our colleagues in Danang, giving them more confidence in their Covid-19 treatment,” Cap told suckhoedoisong.vn.

Dr. Luong Ngoc Khue, head of the Administration of Medical Examination and Treatment under the Ministry of Health, said that the two experts will assess the Covid-19 evolution in Danang city.

Then, they will make a plan to transfer human resources to support Danang’s hospitals. The Central Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Hanoi is now treating and isolating some 20 Covid-19 cases who have returned from Equatorial Guinea, Khue said, citing the Ministry of Health.

The ministry and top hospitals in the country, including Bach Mai Hospital in Hanoi and Hue Central Hospital in central Thua Thien-Hue province, have worked closely together to support Danang in terms of disease prevention and control, testing and treatment.

Medical staff at a Covid-19 quarantine area at the Danang General Hospital. Photo: Nguyen Dong

Besides, on August 3 night, Dr. Nguyen Lan Hieu, director of the Hanoi University Medical Hospital, reviewed his hospital’s human resources specializing in infectious diseases and rehabilitation. Hieu himself led a team of doctors to travel to the central province of Thue Thien-Hue by car because flights to the city had been banned, carrying with them protective gear, medicines and medical equipment.

“I’m glad the number of volunteers exceeds the number of doctors. I am looking forward to bringing more doctors into the epidemic center to assist the severely ill patients,” Hieu told VnExpress.

Meanwhile, the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of Hanoi has sent VND1 billion (US$43,300) to Danang together with 100,000 medical masks and 224 bottles of hand sanitizer to the coastal city, Tuoi Tre online reported.

The committee also granted US$43,300 to Quang Nam province, which has 55 active cases and two fatalities.

At the time of writing, Vietnam has documented 750 Covid-19 cases, with 392 recoveries and ten deaths, since the pandemic first hit in January, the health ministry said. Most of the new cases are linked to hospitals in Danang where the first locally transmitted infection in more than three months was confirmed on July 25.

The ministry stressed that up to 800,000 visitors have left Danang for other parts of the country since July 1, and more than 41,000 people have visited three infected hospitals in the city.

New coronavirus cases have been detected in other cities, including Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, with links to Danang, the ministry noted.

The Hanoitimes – The lockdown is aimed to prevent cross-infection among medical staff and patients.

State-owned E Hospital in Hanoi has been put on lockdown and stopped receiving new patients since August 19 evening after detecting a suspected carrier of coronavirus who is a patient under treatment there, according to the Ministry of Health.

A medical worker at the E Hospital in Hanoi on August 19 night. Photo: The Quynh

The carrier is an 87-year-old man who came to Hanoi from the northern province of Phu Tho for medical examination at E Hospital.

The man had a high temperature and a belly ache on August 10. He was taken to E Hospital for check-ups on August 12 and then stayed at his relatives’ house near the hospital.

The following day, he was admitted to the hospital for a chest scan that later showed his lung had been damaged.

The patient was tested for Covid-19 by the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology on August 18 and the positive result was confirmed one day later.

The patient has been referred to the Central Hospital for Tropical Diseases for treatment.

The director of the Central Hospital for Tropical Diseases said the man, numbered as Patient No.994, has tested negative twice for coronavirus and the hospital is running the test for the third time for confirmation.

This is the 12th locally-acquired coronavirus case Hanoi has registered since the virus recurred in Vietnam on July 25. Most of the cases are closely linked to the Danang outbreak.

Earlier, after the first two-week lockdown period ended on August 11, Danang has extended it due to “complexity and uncertainties” in the Covid-19 pandemic evolution.

After the first locally-transmitted case was confirmed in Danang, three large hospitals in the city, many residential areas, district clinics, and quarantine facilities were isolated.

In the first phase of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Hanoi-based Bach Mai hospital, the largest hospital in Vietnam, was also locked down after 12 Covid-19 patients were found. This is a measure to protect hospitals and health workers.

At the time of writing, Vietnam’s infection count stands at 994, of which 25 have died of various pre-existing comorbidities and Covid-19 complications. The majority of the dead victims were patients of the three hospitals in Danang.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health has also ordered localities across the nation to improve their testing capacity, and enhance scanning to prevent cross-infection.

According to Acting Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long, clusters of community infections would emerge in the coming time. He demanded that all localities remain on high alert to detect new cases, and zone off in a timely manner.

The sooner the infections are detected, the more effective the measures to contain the pandemic will be, Mr.Long stressed.

The Hanoitimes – The two hospitals specializing in lungs and kidney diseases in Hanoi are treating patients who will be vulnerable if acquiring Covid-19.

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.