HCMC – HCMC is considering shutting down some concentrated quarantine facilities and Covid-19 field hospitals as many Covid-19 patients have been treated at home and the recovery rate has been increasing.
Over 40% of Covid-19 cases have been treated at home and the number of recoveries has reached 169,200, Tuoi Tre Online newspaper reported.
The municipal healthcare sector planned to return schools requisitioned as quarantine centers to districts.
Intensive care units will be integrated into the field hospitals No. 13, 14 and 16 to admit severe and moderate patients, while field hospitals for mild patients in the Cu Chi and Can Gio districts will be maintained, said a leader of the municipal Department of Health.
Intensive care units in HCMC managed by the Bach Mai Hospital, the Hue Central Hospital and the Viet Duc Hospital will also be maintained.
Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Truong Son said the city must restructure the Covid-19 treatment system, especially field hospitals.
In addition, the city will maintain pop-up healthcare stations and call on private clinics to take care of Covid-19 patients at home and at centralized quarantine centers.
Doctor Nguyen Thanh Phong, director of a field hospital established by requisitioning the District 8 Cultural Center, said the hospital is treating some 100 cases, down from the previous 170 cases. The daily new cases have also fallen from 20-25 cases to 10 cases.
The mobilization of forces, especially the army medical force, for the treatment of Covid-19 patients at home has proved effective and reduced the number of patients getting worse. In addition, the number of hospitalized patients has dropped, so medical workers at hospitals can take care of their patients better, thus reducing the number of Covid-19 deaths and raising the number of recoveries, Phong added.
Therefore, some schools, dorms, apartment buildings, cultural houses and parts of hospitals should not be requisitioned any more. Only those with sufficient infrastructure should be maintained.
Field hospitals should also be merged to save operation costs.
Doctor Nguyen Thanh Tam, head of the general planning division of a field hospital in Thu Duc City, said the hospital received some 200-300 patients per day, half of the figure on peak days. As the pandemic remains complicated, some field hospitals should be maintained but those with a small number of patients should be dissolved.
Doctor Pham Thi Thu Van, deputy director of the District 11 Hospital, who is in charge of the field hospital No. 9 in Hoc Mon District, also supported the merger of hospitals, saying facilities should be returned to agencies so they can resume their operations when the city allows the resumption of activities.
According to Doctor Tran Van Khanh, director of Le Van Thinh Hospital, who is in charge of the field hospital No. 3 in Thu Duc City, if the number of Covid-19 patients is over 60% of the hospital’s capacity, it should be retained. They should be closed if the number of patients is lower than 40%.
HCMC has 93 Covid-19 treatment facilities, including 30 field hospitals with some 42,000 beds.
