VietNamNet Bridge – Nearly all children’s hospitals in the southern provinces are now overloaded, which may cause the decrease in treatment quality, experts have warned.
A conference on the operation of children’s hospitals was held in HCM City yesterday.
The report presented at the conference showed that Nhi Dong 1 and Nhi Dong 2 hospitals are all overloaded, which receive 3,500-4,000 patients a day. The Nhi Dong 2 Hospital, for example, receives many children patients who come from other provinces, accounting for 18-22% of the total patients. Meanwhile, general hospitals at provincial level in Tien Giang and Binh Duong are also reportedly overloaded.
In Vietnam, the treatment for the children of under six years old is free. Some experts have blamed the overloading in children’s hospitals on the regulation of the free treatment.
However, Dr Nguyen Thanh Giang, Deputy Head of the Planning Division under Nhi Dong 2 Hospital, disagreed with thât opinion, saying that the increased number of children patients was the main reason behind the overloading in hospitals.
Patients now do not want to come to the hospitals and health care centres at district and provincial levels, they come directly to central hospitals, leading to the overloading in central hospitals. 80% of patients said they do not believe in the qualification of the doctors in districts’ hospitals, and 21% said that the local health care centres do not provide necessary medicine.
Mr Gian has warned that the overloading in hospitals will lead to the decreased quality of treatment.
A problem exists now is that many hospitals do not plan to develop children pediatric ward, therefore, children patients in HCM City now have only two choices, Nhi Dong 1 and Nhi Dong 2 hospitals.
Experts have called on the Ministry of Health to take actions to upgrade the hospitals at districts and provincial levels, which is believed the key to the current problems.
(Source: Tuoi tre) | 
