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Patients wait for their turn to see doctors at Cho Ray Hospital |
1. Recovering the health system after a long time responding to the Covid-19 pandemic
Immediately after the epidemic situation was under control from October 1, 2021 to the present, in addition to organizing activities with city leaders to thank medical forces and doctors across the country on the frontline against Covid-19 who volunteered to assist the city in the fight, the health sector quickly dismissed field hospitals.
In addition to the considerable efforts of medical staff, the municipal People's Council promptly issued Resolution No. 01/2022/NQ-HDND to help strengthen human resources for grassroots health care and Resolution 03/2018/NQ to help to stabilize income for medical staff.
2. Actively and effectively respond to epidemics, preventing overlapping epidemics
Two years on, the city could be entering a new phase in the pandemic. In 2022, the health sector has just controlled a new outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic due to the appearance of the Omicron variant, the dengue epidemic appeared earlier with the higher number of cases and mortality than every year.
The Health sector promptly advised the municipal People's Committee to implement various solutions to prevent and control dengue fever throughout the city.
With great efforts and determination of the health system, the dengue epidemic has been controlled and is gradually receding. Moreover, the number of cases, severe cases, and deaths has been clearly reduced in the last months of 2022.
Worse, the emergence of another emerging disease was monkeypox. Right after the Ministry of Health warned that monkeypox was at risk of entering Vietnam, the City Center for Disease Control (HCDC) immediately deployed preventative measures. Subsequently, two monkeypox cases were detected in October 2022 as soon as they arrived at Ho Chi Minh City-based Tan Son Nhat airport, they were isolated and treated promptly, so as not to spread to the community.
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Using robot for surgeries |
3. Launch of the Community Noncommunicable Disease Management Program with technical support from the World Health Organization
The city health sector implemented the health program ‘World Health Organization's Essential Intervention Package for Non-Communicable Diseases’ (referred to as WHO PEN). To implement this program, the Health Sector actively contacted and received technical support from the World Health Organization.
In addition, the city's health sector also implemented more activities to detect and care for people with mental illnesses, especially depression - which tends to increase in incidence after the Covid-19 pandemic.
4. HCMC health sector pilots emergency aid for depression
A trial project was launched in Ho Chi Minh City to offer assistance to people with signs of depression. The project was implemented in close cooperation between the 115 Emergency Center and the Ho Chi Minh City Psychiatric Hospital. In addition to the familiar 115 emergency line, the health sector has also deployed a hotline 1900 1267. When detecting signs similar to depression, patients or their family members can call the hotline 19001267 operated by HCMC Psychiatric Hospital, or 115, to connect quickly with the psychiatric experts.
Emergency aid for depression was considered the first activity in the chain of mental health care activities for the City people related to Covid-19.
5. Bringing newly-graduated medicine students to practice in hospitals associated with practice at health stations
In February 2022, with the consent of the city's leaders, the health sector of Ho Chi Minh City began to pilot a clinical practice program at the city's general and specialized hospitals associated with practice at the medical program for newly graduated doctors to obtain a license to practice as a general practitioner.
Up to now, 286 doctors have been trained under this program. On average, each health station will be allocated one young doctor to practice primary health care at the station.
in 2022, the Department of Health has just received 212 new graduate doctors to register for the second practical training course. 168 of them are from Pham Ngoc Thach Medical University, 43 from Medical University in Ho Chi Minh City, and one from the Military Medical Academy.
Thus, roughly 212 more doctors have been practicing at the ward and commune health stations in the city. According to the training plan, young doctors participating in this program will practice alternately at the health station and at the city's general hospitals.
6. Rotating young volunteer doctors and bringing chest X-rays with integrated artificial intelligence to Thanh An island commune
Responding to the Department of Health's plan to improve medical capacity for Thanh An island commune, outstanding young doctors who are members of the Youth Union of the Health Sector of Ho Chi Minh City volunteered to alternately support the health station in the island commune. For the first time in the country, along with sending young volunteer doctors to the island commune, the City Health Department has brought a digital X-ray machine with artificial intelligence (AI) to the medical station in Thanh An Commune.
Following these activities, the health sector will carry out health checks and create electronic health records for people in Thanh An island commune to screen and detect inhabitants with chronic non-communicable diseases such as hypertension, blood pressure, diabetes, bronchial asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Next, the sector will carry out a non-communicable disease management program under the guidance of the World Health Organization for people with hypertension, blood pressure, diabetes, bronchial asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
7. Deploying many specialized techniques at the city's last-line specialized and general hospitals
Despite having just gone through a long time of prevention and control of the Covid-19 epidemic, the city's large general and specialized hospitals continued to make efforts to develop high and specialized techniques to constantly improve the quality of treatment, towards building a specialized medical center on par with the region according to the development orientation set by the city's leaders in 2022.
It was a successful kidney transplant at Children's Hospital 2 for a 15-year-old boy with chronic kidney failure who had to undergo regular dialysis every week.
Moreover, the good coordination between the City Center for Disease Control and the Hospital for Tropical Diseases and the Oucru Foundation (Oxford University) in deploying genetic sequencing techniques helps to detect and prevent the spread of newly emerging infectious diseases. Plus, new diagnostic and treatment techniques have been deployed in specialized and general hospitals in the city.
8. Dialogue and listening to people's opinions
In 2022, the Department of Health officially launched a weekly program of dialogue and listening to people's opinions on the provision of its public administrative services. In order to create favorable conditions for people and to listen to many opinions, the Department of Health organized an online meeting with the people. Immediately after the meetings, leaders of the Department of Health and functional departments discussed, exchanged and found the most feasible solution to improve the online public service process.
In addition, the Department of Health organized a program to talk to and listen to medical staff currently working at affiliated units, especially those that are facing many difficulties in 2022 for the very first time.
9. More new medical buildings put into use
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Blood Transfusion - Hematology Hospital in Binh Chanh outlying district |
The Blood Transfusion - Hematology Hospital in Binh Chanh outlying district’s Tan Kien Commune with 300 beds and the Children's Cardiovascular Surgery and Intervention Center of Children's Hospital 1 were put into operation in 2022.
In addition, the city's health sector will complete and soon put into use seven other key projects, including new medical examination departments - Surgical treatment block (Block 4A) of Children's Hospital, Neonatal - Specialty Center (Block 5B) under Children's Hospital 1, high-tech diagnostic area of People's Hospital 115, City Forensic Center, Nguyen Trai Hospital, Rehabilitation - Treatment of Occupational Diseases Hospital (Block A1) and Medical Testing Center of Pham Ngoc Thach Medical University.
10. Successfully organizing the 1st Excellent Medical Station Head Contest
The year 2022 is the first year that the City Health Sector organizes the ‘Excellent Chief of Medical Station’ Contest to create a useful playground for medical staff who are in charge of health station management of grassroots healthcare facilities.
The contest attracted 374 health workers at 310 health stations in wards and communes in the city to participate, the exam questions focused on the tasks of the health station such as disease prevention, vaccination, non-communicable disease management, health program management, primary medical examination and treatment.
This year, the city health sector officially launched the third Vietnam Medical Achievement Award - 2022 for public health benefits.
After three months of launching, the organizing received 26 entries from 23 units, district health centers and hospitals in Ho Chi Minh City and the provinces of Binh Duong, Can Tho, Dong Nai, and Nghe An. The expert council selected the 15 most excellent entries selected by residents. The award-giving ceremony will be held on February 27, 2023.
