Treatment for COVID-19 patients at national hospital reviewed

A staff member at Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi checks passengers’ body temperature via a thermal scanner (Photo: VNA) 

Hanoi (VNA) – Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen
Truong Son had a working session with the Hanoi-based National Hospital for
Tropical Diseases (NHTD) on March 24 to look into the treatment for
cases, especially serious ones.

NHTD Director Pham Ngoc Thach said his hospital
is giving treatment to 46 COVID-19 patients, including 34 Vietnamese and 12
foreigners.

In the first phase, the hospital mainly cared
for young patients. Now, patients have increased and they belong to various age
groups, including with other illnesses like hypertension,
immunodeficiency and diabetes.

Notably, its intensive care department is
tending to three severe cases, comprising a 64-year-old Vietnamese woman, a
50-year-old Vietnamese man and a 69-year-old British man, Thach said.

Luong Ngoc Khue, Director of the Health
Ministry’s Department of Medical Examination and Treatment Management, said as
the NHTD handles serious cases, it needs to review its operating procedures and
equipment and report the situation to the ministry to seek solutions if
necessary.

Meanwhile, Deputy Minister Son highly valued
efforts by all the staff of the hospital and at the same time also asked it to
further prevent cross infection after a doctor at the emergency department
contracted SARS-CoV-2.

He also told the NHTD to better care for its
staff’s spiritual life so that they won’t be overloaded. Besides, it needs to
build more response plans in case the number of patients surges.

Severe cases will receive treatment at
higher-level hospitals, including the NHTD, while mild ones will be moved to
others, according to the official.

As of March 24 morning, Vietnam had recorded 123
COVID-19 cases, 17 of whom have recovered./.