Doctors at the city’s Traditional MedicineInstitute in Phu Nhuan district on January 22 started providing free healthexams, ultrasounds and electrocardiograms to poor patients.
Many of the patients said they seldom visitedhospitals for exams, even though some of them suffer from various kinds ofailments.
Nguyen Minh Tri, 56, of the district, said: “Ihaven’t been able to hold anything in my left hand over the last severalmonths. However, I haven’t gone to a hospital.”
Dr Nguyen Tuan Anh, deputy head of the institute’sOncology Ward, examined Tri, who smokes two packs of cigarettes a day.
Anh said that Tri could be at risk ofatherosclerosis in which plaque builds up inside arteries, hardening andnarrowing the arteries and limiting the flow of oxygen-rich blood.
As atherosclerosis can cause seriouscomplications such as a stroke or heart attack, Anh scheduled anelectrocardiogram for Tri.
Another patient, Nguyen Hong Tham, 60, who alsolives in the district, has had allergic rhinitis for many years.
“However, I haven’t had time for examination andtreatment. Several days ago, I was told to go to the institute for a free exam.The institute’s doctor advised me to get thread embedding, which is a kind of acupuncturetherapy, to treat allergic rhinitis,” Tham said.
The threads, which eventually dissolve, areembedded into acupuncture points to stimulate them for 10-14 days.
“The free examination programme shows care forthe poor and for seniors before Lunar New Year. It’s very useful for us,” Thamsaid.
After the exams, the patients were providedgifts worth 1 million VND (44 USD) each. The institute also presented gifts to30 poor inpatients.
From January 27-30, inpatients will be providedfree three meals every day.
On January 14, doctors and nurses at many cityhospitals visited Binh Phuoc province, the Xa Mat border gate in Tay Ninh, andDong Nai province to care for people with financial difficulties.
Health workers at Nhan Ai, Tu Du and Paediatricshospitals provided free medicine and health examination to 150 children, poorresidents, and those covered by special State policies that live in Phu Van communein Binh Phuoc province.
The team, including doctors and nurses from CuChi and Thu Duc general hospitals and Oncology Hospital, visited Tan Lap districtin Tay Ninh province offered free exams and medicine for 500 poor people there.
They also presented gifts to soldiers stationedat border gates.-VNA