The inauguration of a satellite emergency station in HCM City's Binh Thanh Hospital (Photo: congan.com.vn) HCM City (VNA) - A new model that sets up satellite emergencystations in all HCM City districts has helped saved many lives, both accidentvictims and seriously ill patients, over the last two years.
The satellite emergencystations, functioning under district-level hospitals, have proven particularlyuseful in instances where there was not enough time to rush seriously injuredaccident victims or seriously ill patients to hospitals because of trafficcongestion, a review conference heard last week.
The new model wasapplied after it was seen that the municipal 115 Emergency Centre, set up in2013, was unable to fulfill its duties properly because of poor infrastructureand personnel shortages.
In response, the city’sHealth Department decided to apply an out-of- hospital emergency service thathad proved effective in several developed countries.
Doctor Tang Chi Thuong,deputy director of the city’s Health Department, said they had studied themodel and applied “local specific characteristics” in deploying the satelliteemergency stations in districts.
These stations have beenable to make full use of their human sources to rescue victims in the quickestpossible way, taking advantage of the "golden time in treatment,”typically providing first aid no more than 5 minutes after receivinginformation, he said.
The satellite emergencystations need the co-operation and medical intervention of many healthprofessionals from the city’s leading hospitals in order to save victims invery serious conditions.
Doctor Do Thanh Tuan,head of the District 4 General Hospital, which also plays the role of asatellite emergency station, said their emergency ward received 70-80 patientsfrom both District 4 and neighboring areas every day.
“Our doctors and medicalworkers have saved many people who were in critical condition before beinghospitalised,” Dr Tuan said.
"District 4’snetwork of narrow alleys is an obstacle course for medical workers andambulances to reach the scene in the case of emergency. Therefore, carrying outemergency operations at a satellite hospital becomes necessary to takeadvantage of the golden time.”
Dr Le Hoang Quy, deputyhead of the Binh Thanh District General hospital - a satellite emergencystation, said they had to arrange doctors and medical workers into twofirst-aid shifts operating around the clock, with each shift having twodoctors, four nurses and an ambulance driver.
Whenever the hospitalreceived an emergency call, an ambulance with qualified medical workers quicklyleft for the scene to help victims as fast and as safely as possible.
At the same time, thehospital has set aside at least 18 beds for patients in critical situations ifthe number of victims is higher.
Dr Quy said surgeonswere always ready to assist medical workers at emergency stations to tacklecomplicated cases, adding that about 30 beds were prepared for emergency casesa day.
The city’s HealthDepartment has asked district-level hospitals to enroll as satellite emergencystations, deputy director Tang Chi Thuong said.
As a satellite station,the hospital will be fully responsible for the preparation of adequateinfrastructure, qualified ambulances and medical workers.
So far, the city has 21satellite emergency stations, and expects all inner and outskirts districts tohave at least one such station this year to respond when people call 115.
The department hasrecorded that the number of calls made to 115 increased to 11,854 in the first10 months of 2016, compared to 6,805 in 2014, demonstrating increasedconfidence in the emergency service.
At least 30 people incritical condition have been saved.
In particular, sixpatients were saved by timely surgical intervention at district-level hospitalslast year. Dr Thuong said the risk of death would have been very high ifpatients had been moved to the city’s leading hospital, as was done earlier.
To develop the 115Emergency Centre, Thuong said he had submitted to the municipal administrationa project to train medical workers for out-of-hospital emergency services.
He also proposed thatthe city authorities invest more in infrastructure for the 115 EmergencyCentre, especially in an automatic control system.-VNA
