HCM City (VNA) – Children's HeartLink, a US non-governmental organisation specialising in supporting developing countries in the field of pediatric cardiac care, awarded an Excellent Cardiac Centre certification to the Pediatric Cardiac Centre at Children's Hospital 1 in Ho Chi Minh City on July 18.
It is the first pediatric cardiac centre in Vietnam to receive this certification from Children's HeartLink.
Speaking at the event, Asso. Prof Dr. Nguyen Thanh Hung, director of the hospital, said over the past 15 years, the Children's Hospital 1 has performed over 5,100 open-heart surgeries and over 7,100 cardiac interventions, with a survival rate of 98%. This significant achievement has led to a remarkable reduction in the hospital's mortality rate, from 4.9% in 2007 to only 0.4% in 2021, bringing joy and happiness to thousands of families.
One of the evaluation criteria of Children's HeartLink is treatment effectiveness, which is reflected in the survival rate within the first 30 days after cardiac surgery or intervention. The number of children saved by the cardiac centre is also important, he said.
Hung added that apart from significantly improving the mortality rate of congenital heart disease patients at the hospital, it has also trained and transferred cardiac surgical techniques to countries such as India, Japan, Singapore, China, and Malaysia.
With the recognition as an excellent cardiac centre, he pledged that the hospital will strive to become a leading pediatric cardiac centre in Southeast Asia in the near future, in line with the development direction and expectations of the city’s leaders, he affirmed.
Currently, there are six excellent pediatric cardiac centres recognised by Children's HeartLink in Brazil, China, India, Bangladesh and Malaysia. The centre in Vietnam is the 7th on this list./.