Pressure doubles during Tet
Binh Ngo Tet 2026 is the 11th year that nurse Nguyen Thanh Quang, Emergency Department, Quang Ngai Provincial General Hospital (Provincial General Hospital) has a Tet duty schedule at the hospital.
As a special department, during Tet, our work pressure is heavier than usual. Especially on New Year's Eve, when many people rest and reunite with their families, we have to work continuously because there are many emergency cases related to traffic accidents, food poisoning, firework burns...", nurse Quang shared.
According to specialist doctor I Luong Quyet Thang, in charge of the Emergency Department (Provincial General Hospital), the department receives an average of 150 - 160 patients per day. During the Lunar New Year, the number of patients usually doubles. To ensure emergency personnel, the department arranges 2 doctors and 7 nurses for each shift, while the whole department only has 9 doctors and 23 nurses.
Scarce human resources, large workload when both ensuring emergency care at the hospital and participating in extrahospital emergency care, but with a high sense of responsibility, the team of doctors and nurses is always ready to race against time to treat patients as quickly as possible.
Three years of working at Quang Ngai Provincial Obstetrics and Pediatrics Hospital (Provincial Obstetrics Hospital) is also the same amount of time that nurse Trinh Thi Thu Phuong, from the General Emergency Department, celebrated New Year's Eve and Tet in the hospital.
As a young nurse, Phuong both performs professional duties at the Emergency Department and is a core member of the Outpatient Emergency Team and the Transfer Team of the Provincial Children's Hospital.
This 26-year-old female nurse's Tet duty schedule is not only fixed at 12 hours/shift but sometimes extends to 72 hours when there is an emergency need to transfer a patient to a higher-level hospital.
I once had a 72-hour Tet shift because I had to follow the ambulance to take the patient to Children's Hospital 2, Ho Chi Minh City. That was a 3-year-old patient with blood clots, cleft lip, severe cleft palate, unable to breastfeed on his own. Throughout the long journey, I both took care of the patient and encouraged the family," nurse Phuong recounted.
According to Phuong, people working in the medical field not only support patients professionally but must also be a spiritual support for patients and their families. "Letting go of the joy of celebrating Tet with family, for the sake of patients' lives, is our happiness," Phuong confided.
Always ready for emergency care during Tet
Dr. Nguyen Dinh Tuyen - Director of Quang Ngai Provincial Obstetrics and Pediatrics Hospital said that right before the Lunar New Year holiday, the hospital had developed a specific on-duty plan, assigning full on-duty teams of leaders, specialists, nurses, pharmacists, testing, diagnostic imaging and logistics. On-duty emergency care, intensive care, surgery and neonatal care were carefully prepared, ready to receive and handle promptly arising situations.
Especially during Tet days, the risk of domestic accidents, food poisoning, foreign object choking, and injuries in young children tends to increase. The hospital has proactively forecasted the amount of medicine, medical supplies, blood and intravenous fluids, ensuring that there is no passivity in emergency and treatment.
With a high sense of responsibility and dedication from the team of doctors and nurses, the Provincial Obstetrics and Pediatrics Hospital is determined not to interrupt professional activities during the holidays, contributing to protecting people's health, especially pregnant women and children," Mr. Tuyen emphasized.
