On November 29, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health had a meeting with the leaders of Pham Ngoc Thach Hospital after the press reported that many patients being treated at the hospital's Emergency Department had to lie on the ground.
According to the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health, Pham Ngoc Thach Hospital is a specialized hospital for tuberculosis and lung diseases with a scale of 960 inpatient beds (before April 2024, it was 800 inpatient beds). The bed capacity in the past 11 months was 103.9%.
Through hospital reports and direct surveys in emergency areas, the Intensive Care Unit and inpatient wards of Pham Ngoc Thach Hospital, the Department of Health recorded a local overload situation in the hospital's Emergency Department.
The number of emergency patients has increased in recent days, leading to a temporary shortage of hospital beds and the use of measures that do not ensure patient comfort.
The Department of Health acknowledged the solutions that the hospital has implemented in the past. To resolve the current situation, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health requested Pham Ngoc Thach Hospital to urgently arrange more beds in the inpatient departments, with a total of about 50 beds expected to be added.
Organize examination and screening of patients being monitored and treated at the Emergency Department, transfer patients who do not meet the emergency criteria to inpatient departments with additional beds. At the same time, the hospital deploys a specialized working group to improve the quality of the Emergency Department.
In the coming time, the Department of Health requires hospitals to improve infrastructure and necessary equipment to enhance the capacity to treat critically ill patients in each clinical department. Digital transformation applications help the Emergency Department promptly grasp the situation of hospital beds in inpatient departments for patient transfer.
In addition, develop and update admission criteria for the Emergency Department and inpatient departments. Strengthen counseling activities, support activities for patients and their families, and survey patient dissatisfaction at the Emergency Department and inpatient departments of the hospital.
In order to adapt and ensure the quality of treatment and emergency care for patients in the last months of the year (a period when the number of patients coming for examination, treatment and emergency care often increases compared to the whole year), the Department of Health requires hospital directors to review and inspect the implementation of activities to improve the emergency capacity of hospitals and medical examination and treatment facilities in Ho Chi Minh City.
