Once a string of satellite hospitals belonging to Bach Mai hospital get off the ground, they will provide high-quality medical services for millions of people.

Currently, Bach Mai hospital is overloaded with patients coming from many localities far away, with its occupancy rate being as high as 160-180 percent.

To solve this problem, the Ministry of Health has recently allowed Bach Mai hospital to carry out a project to raise treatment capacity for local hospitals and reduce the state of overload in central hospitals.

In recent years, large numbers of patients have been seen gathering at Hanoi’s Bach Mai, Viet Duc, 103 and 108 hospitals. Why so?

The Deputy Director of the Training Centre of Bach Mai Hospital, Vu Tri Tien put this down to low-quality medical examination and treatment, for lack of highly skilled doctors and treatment regimes still below international standards in many localities.

In late 2009, a model was set up and put into operation by experts from Bach Mai hospital to provide comprehensive consultancy advice on emergency and paraclinical treatment for local hospitals.

The focus of the project from 2009-2013 will be on training key medical workers, transferring new technologies and helping local hospitals apply treatment regimes of  international standards.

The former Director of Bach Mai Hospital, Asso.Pro and Dr Tran Thuy Hanh, who is now Deputy Head of the Project Management Board says the selection criteria for satellite hospitals are based on the representation of different regions and areas and the sphere of influence over other surrounding hospitals in terms of medical examination and treatment. Besides, the implementation of the project depends on consensus of opinion from local leaders, local healthcare departments and physicians.

Hanh says this is considered to be the first satellite Paraclinical hospital in the country. Seven others will include Ha Dong Hospital in Hanoi and Bac Ninh Hospital, Tuyen Quang Hospital, Pho Noi Hospital in Hung Yen, Lao Cai Hospital, Nam Dinh Hospital and Nghe An Hospital.

Bach Mai Hospital’s Director, Nguyen Quoc Anh who is also head of the Project Management Board says this is a practical solution to train doctors on the spot and transfer new technologies to other doctors. When local doctors face a complicated emergency case they can discuss online with experts and doctors of Bach Mai Hospital in Hanoi to find the best solution. Once the project gets underway, it will ensure the efficiency of healthcare services for local people.

The project lasting in five years from August 2009 to December 2013 will cost nearly VND80 billion. For its successful implementation Bach Mai Hospital is also engaged other supporting mini projects aimed at improving healthcare and treatment capacity, training staff, promoting healthcare education information and communications and applying information technology and online networking.

Accordingly, the project will also help to develop a paraclinical system to meet diagnostic and treatment requirements.

Around 80 percent of management officials will be trained to improve their skills, hundreds of training courses and seminars will be held and nearly 300 diagnostic and treatment regimes will be developed. More than 3,500 local doctors in eight satellite hospitals will have direct access to new technological advances.

 

Moreover, the project will help local people to enjoy high quality healthcare services at their local hospitals. The Bach Mai Hospital management board plans to encourage satellite hospitals to get involved in the project.

The project will cover nearly 50,000km.sq with a total population of more than 12 million. If the surrounding areas are included, it will benefit as many as 38 million people.

(VOV)