Can Tho Oncology Hospital is overloaded, radiotherapy machines waiting for emergency care

Returning to Can Tho Oncology Hospital in mid-March, we had to squeeze through the crowded lines of people waiting for medical examination and treatment, the scene showed no signs of improvement, even more suffocating than in July 2024.

Departments and rooms are packed with people

"The number of patients also exceeds the permitted level. On weekdays, the medical team has to receive 700 - 800 patients from neighboring provinces," answered Dr. Le Bao Toan - Head of the Examination Department, Can Tho City Oncology Hospital - about the situation of patient overload.

Doctor Toan added that this miserable situation has been going on for many years, with limited facilities, lacking facilities, and patients suffering. .. Every working day, the medical team tries their best in the spirit of overcoming difficulties.

Present at the medical examination in mid-March 2025, patient Hua Anh Tuan (Binh Thuy district, Can Tho city) was upset: "Many times when we see the elderly so tired that we are helpless, the doctor also sweats".

The General Surgery Department, with an area of over 200m2, currently has 80 hospital beds. Each bed has 2 - 3 patients. Meanwhile, about 30 doctors and medical staff of the department only have a room of about 20 square meters. In times of danger, the doctor always gives the patient a seat.

"The doctors are used to suffering because they understand the pressure of work, but we see patients being unable to resist. For example, we have a new hospital project that has started construction but is abandoned and extremely expensive. really, we work in this situation, both difficult and painful, said Specialist Doctor 2 Tran Minh Khoi - Head of the Department of General Surgery.

The only radiotherapist is broken, no place to repair it

When arriving at the radiation therapy department, the difficulties became more serious. Specialist Doctor 2 Tran Thanh Phong - Head of the Department - said that the only radiotherapy machine equipped at the hospital has been broken for more than 10 days.

Dr. Phong explained that the Cobalt 60 radiotherapy machine is the only machine equipped at Can Tho City Oncology Hospital, put into use since 2010. With the advancement of medicine and the development of society, this machine, after 15 years, has been classified as outdated, and no other hospital in the country or the world can use it.

However, this machine is exploited at too much capacity, working 24/7 to serve 70 out of 300 patients waiting. Each radiotherapy session lasts 20 minutes, 3 times more than a modern accelerator radiotherapy machine. As a result, the machine also knows how to then and ghize.

"As many times, this time is the longest and there is still no solution. One of the reasons for the prolonged repair time is that the company has stopped producing replacement components. We are required to find a suitable place to make equipment to be able to temporarily use it, said Dr. Phong.

Warning from many months ago

In the situation of a broken engine and not knowing the exact time for repair, the doctors of the radiation therapy department took the patient to a resort, but this was not the right way.

Some patients have waited for a long time, worried about their poor health, and have asked for treatment in Ho Chi Minh City, Ca Mau, Kien Giang, Tra Vinh, etc. Difficult travel, many things cost, and are underlying, so there is a risk of leading to unwanted complications.

In the waiting room of this department, there is no longer the scene of patients waiting as before, instead there is a cold space that can occasionally hear sighing and roar from the side rooms.

When "rehabilitating" patients, it is even more obvious that the facilities here are seriously degraded. The hospital beds are old, the mattresses are torn, the walls are cracked.

A hospital nurse shared: "Sometimes I feel scared when I go to work because the limestone is easily peeling. The most frightening thing is falling into a patient and not knowing what to do."

Unexpectedly, we remember the warning of Dr. Vo Van Kha - Director of Can Tho City Oncology Hospital - in July 2024 in Lao Dong: "If equipment is not invested in in time, the hospital may stop operating the radiotherapy system, meaning many patients will not receive timely radiotherapy, which can easily lead to unpredictable complications...".