Patients use blankets to keep warm while receiving treatment at the in Hanoi. (Source: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) – At the
corner of Bach Mai Hospital’s lobby in
Hanoi, relatives of patients shiver with every gust of wind, even under their
thick blankets. The recent chill is making their time as hospital visitors even
more difficult.
The strong cold snap hitting Hanoi
and northern provinces over
the past few days pulled the temperatures down to around ten degrees Celsius. Mountainous
areas have witnessed .
As a result, the number of
patients, especially the elderly and children, admitted to hospitals for winter
diseases has surged. Many hospitals have experienced overcrowding.
Old patients mostly contract
heart, bone-related and respiratory diseases. The number of old patients
suffering from stroke has increased by 15 percent since the cold snap began, Sai Gon Giai Phong ()
newspaper reported.
Associate Professor Tran Minh Dien,
deputy director of the National Paediatrics Hospital, told the newspaper that over the past few
days, nearly 4,000 children have been sent to his hospital everyday, most of
them infected with respiratory system illnesses and diarrhea caused by virus. The
Paediatrics Department of Bach Mai Hospital and Saint Paul Hospital admitted
significantly more children (10 to 20 percent) than normal. Some children were
rushed to the hospital with serious pneumonia.
Waiting for his health check up
at the National Geriatric Hospital, a patient
named Tuan, 67, told Sai Gon Giai Phong, “I
am infected with chronic bronchitis. Whenever the weather changes, especially
when it is rainy and cold, I feel tightness in the chest, find it difficult to
breathe and cough all day long. I am deprived of sleep”
“I have been here for nearly two
hours waiting for my health examination,” he said.
Professor Ngo Quy Chau, deputy
director of Bach Mai Hospital and
director of the hospital’s Respiratory Centre, told Lao
Dong (Labour) newspaper that respiratory illnesses are a leading
cause of other illnesses and even death. Cold weather can also make chronic
diseases such as asthma, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) flare up.
Cold weather not only overcrowds
central-level hospitals but also crowds local hospitals in northern mountainous
provinces including Lao Cai, Yen Bai, Cao Bang and Lang Son.
Hospitals have made preparation
to accommodate patients and their relatives.
Hospital K,
Hospital for Tropical Diseases and Vietnam-Germany Hospital have prepared heaters
and air-conditioners at the medical checkup areas, treatment rooms and
operation spaces. More blankets are being supplied for patients.
The
Emergency and Medical Checkup departments of hospitals provide meals at the
patients’ rooms for heavily infected patients, those with disadvantaged
conditions and those who do not have relatives.
The Bach Mai Hospital has mobilised 30 heaters
for areas serving out-patients.
Tran Thi Nhi Ha, deputy director
of Hanoi’s Health Department, said that the department has required hospitals
to mobilise heating equipment and blankets for in-patients, ensure warmth for
patients in waiting areas and pay attention to the elderly, newborns and
children.
Medical treatment facilities must
ensure medicine, beds and emergency equipment to respond to serious conditions
caused by abnormal weather conditions such as high blood pressure, stroke,
influenza, acute respiratory diseases.
The Paediatrics Department
of Lao Cai Obstetrics and Pediatrics Hospital has
brought in an additional 40 beds, increasing the number of beds to 100.
Doctors of National Hospital for
Tropical Diseases said that cold weather poses risks to patients with high
blood pressure and to old patients. The risks of stroke may be reduced by
keeping patients warm in a windproof room.
Parents should keep their
children warm and provide them with nutritious meals to increase their
resistance to disease. Children face a high risk of flu, diarrhea, measles,
whooping cough and chicken pox during winter and spring. Parents are advised to
ensure their children receive vaccines.-VNA
Source: VietnamPlus
