A COVID-19 patient in a serious condition receiving treatment in Hanoi. (Photo: tienphong.vn) That isaccording to Dr Nguyen Trung Cap, Deputy Director of the National Hospitalfor Tropical Diseases, a leading hospital in COVID treatment in thecountry.
In recentdays, the capital city has reported an average of ten fatalities per day.
Hanoi isapplying a three-layer COVID assessment level for treatment; asymptomatic,patients with light symptoms and severe cases.
About 93 percent of COVID-19 patients in Hanoi are asymptomatic or have light symptoms.Among those, more than 50,000 patients are being treated at home. Others arebeing treated at city/district-level healthcare centres.
The risingnumber of infections in the city has however resulted in more serious cases.
Dr Hoang Bui Hai,Deputy Director of the COVID-19 Treatment Hospital (Hanoi Medical UniversityHospital), said 40 to 50 percent of serious cases being treated with breathingmachines face a high risk of fatality.
According tothe health ministry, since April 29 when the fourth pandemic wave started, thecity has confirmed 324 deaths, accounting for 0.4 percent of infection cases.
Dr Cap saidthe treatment layer at the highest level of Hanoi has high-quality doctors andequipment, but a limited number of beds. The lower levels have a high number ofstaff and beds, but less skilful doctors and equipment.
The city needsto make best use of medical staff at the lower treatment layer and takeadvantage of experienced doctors and equipment at the high level, he told TienPhong (Vanguard) newspaper.
From two yearsof experience in various areas across Vietnam, Dr Cap said, “The model ofmedical mentorship which has been applied successfully in other localities willhelp Hanoi.”
He took ChiLinh City General Hospital in northern Hai Duong province as an example. Notall of the hospital’s staff had been trained in COVID-19 treatment when thepandemic broke out in Chi Linh in early 2021.
Thanks to thementorship of doctors from the National Hospital of Tropical Diseases viaonline consultations, after one week, local doctors in Hai Duong could performtheir tasks well.
The mentorshipmodel was also applied in northern Bac Ninh province in May and June 2021.
At first, allpatients needed to be examined online by doctors from the National Hospital ofTropical Diseases.
Two weekslater, some heads of departments of Bac Ninh province Hospital learned skillsand techniques to be able to conduct consultations in most COVID-19 cases inthe province. Doctors from the National Hospital of Tropical Diseases onlyparticipated in consulting a few complicated cases.
Dr Cap said,“It means doctors at the higher-level treatment layer can offer consultationsfrom a distance for patients at the lower level. The lower level layer can takeadvantage of healthcare staff, even those from other medical fields and medicalstudents, to participate in the treatment process with supervision from doctorsat the higher level.”
The mentorshipmodel needs the instruction of highly-skilled doctors. Each doctor fromnational hospitals will be in charge of assisting one area. Each doctor fromthe highest level will be responsible for instructing one doctor of the secondlayer. The doctor of the second layer will assist a clinic to monitor positivecases in the community, Cap said.
If the lowerlevel is unable to receive patients, the higher level must receive, superviseand offer treatment from a distance, he said.
He emphasisedthat the model needs strict supervision; everyone must follow the instructionsof doctors at the highest level.
Doctors at theprovincial level should instruct doctors at the district level. Doctors at thedistrict level must instruct commune-level medical staff, creating an expandednetwork and not leaving any patients behind.
“The systemwill be smoothly operated even when the number of infection cases increasessharply,” he said.
The COVID-19mentorship model is being applied at five hospitals in Hanoi - Duc Giang GeneralHospital, Thanh Nhan Hospital, Saint Paul General Hospital, Dong Da GeneralHospital and Ha Dong General Hospital./.
VNA
