Local, foreign paediatricians discuss emergency treatment

Hanoi (VNA) - Nearly 400 foreign and local paediatricians gathered in Hanoi on March 27 for the first national conference on paediatric emergencies and intensive care.

Deputy Health Minister Nguyen Thi Xuyen said that most general hospitals at
district level lack paediatric emergency wards as well as transportation
facilities for children in emergency cases.

The health sector will prioritise personnel training in paediatric emergency
services, as well as transfer technology and equipment for paediatric care at
provincial hospitals.

According to an initial survey on the nation's paediatric emergency system
conducted by the National Paediatrics Hospital in 2008, 93 percent of
provincial general hospitals have paediatric departments, and nearly 80 percent
have children's examination wards but just 69 percent have children's emergency
wards, and nearly 60 percent have intensive care facilities geared to children. As
a result, they were unable to effectively treat serious diseases in children, such
as bird flu or acute pneumonia or conduct major surgery and medical techniques.


Many grassroots hospitals still lack essential medical facilities such as central
compressed air systems and breathers.-Enditem