Epidemic prevention and control procedures tightened at medical agencies

Facing the complicated situation of the Covid-19 epidemic and learning lessons of a number of hospitals in the North of Vietnam that had been locked down due to Covid-19 infection among doctors, patients, and family members, Binh Duong provincial Department of Health has requested local hospitals to strengthen inpatient epidemic prevention.

Binh Duong provincial medical sector checks Hoan My Van Phuc Hospital in Thu Dau Mot city for epidemic prevention and control

To close down disobedient agencies

After the Department of Health issued a written request to medical units in the province to tighten the process of disease prevention and control, medical facilities have, according to our records, been urgently reviewing and supplementing to finalize the hospital plans. Upholding the motto of ‘4 matters on the spot”, the units have actively expanded treatment facilities and mobilized resources to promptly respond to and/or strictly comply with the criteria of safe hospitals and clinics to prevent and control Covid-19 epidemic. The medical examination and treatment facilities have regularly evaluated hospitals and clinics for safety against Covid-19 according to the Ministry of Health's criteria.

Binh Duong provincial General Hospital has strictly implemented screening and classification of patients for examination and treatment. All medical staff, patients, and family members coming for examination and treatment must have their temperature checked and must declare their epidemiological information. The hospital requires everyone going in and out of the hospital to wear masks regularly and properly and to disinfect their hands after touching surfaces. The hospital will give masks to patients forgetting to wear masks free of charge at the reception and instruction division.

The hospital also implements social distancing by limiting family members and relatives to medical examination and treatment establishments as much as possible. It also limits inpatient hospitalization when not absolutely necessary while reviewing the arrangement of divisions, rooms, reasonable medical examination and treatment procedures, etc. to prevent patients from sharing patient beds. Distance of at least 2 meters among patient beds and natural ventilation in wards, divisions, rooms and medical examination and treatment establishments is ensured. In addition, the hospital also recommends that people should go to the primary health care for medical examination and treatment. It also recommends registering online for appointment, which should be punctually observed without being neither too early nor too late, before going to the doctor.

To promote Covid-19 testing

Covid-19 testing is for rapid discovery and isolation of infected people to mitigate SARS-CoV-2 spread. The action is a major integral part that medical agencies must follow to tighten the prevention and control. According to surveillance data, 144 F1 cases relating to nationwide outbreaks and 404 F2 are in the province. On returning those cases have been concentrated in quarantine areas or home isolation as per required epidemic prevention and control. In order to screen and detect infected cases early, health workers have gone to every isolated household to take samples for testing. This is a solution to screen people at risk of contracting Covid-19 in the community. If a case is detected with a positive test result for Covid-19, the locality will conduct timely isolation and treatment to avoid spreading in the community.

Dr. Van Quang Tan, Director of the provincial General Hospital, said that the hospital has been reviewing and strengthening its Covid-19 testing capacity with real-time RT-PCR to respond to epidemic situations in the province. In the near future, the hospital will periodically organize random Covid-19 testing for medical staff in high-risk departments and staff working in screening, categorizing, isolating and patient areas, in some risky departments and wards or patients who are severely affected by Covid-19 infection, including patients in emergency department, emergency resuscitation, intensive care, and infectious diseases.

Meanwhile, regarding drug prescriptions, hospitals have divided patients into groups. People, who have been treated stably with chronic diseases or performed medical examination and outpatient prescription for 1-3 months and at the same time have been ensured by adequate supply of medical insurance drugs according to prescriptions until the schedule of follow-up visits, should be confined under limited referrals. Transferring patients to a terminal hospital, which is notified and agreed before referral, is made when there are serious developments beyond the technical capacity of the hospital.

On discharging Covid-19 patients, the provincial General Hospital must notify local health centers to follow up the management, isolation, monitoring and testing of patients and their family members according to the current regulations. Directors of hospitals and medical examination and treatment facilities are responsible for managing and directing all employees to raise awareness of Covid-19 prevention and control, by strictly implementing the "5K" message of Ministry of Health and personal protective measures without going to places with high risk of infection like buffet parties, amusement parks, cinemas, bars, and karaoke.

Reported by Kim Ha – Translated by Vi Bao