The setting up of emergency stations under the Da Nang 115 Emergency Centre at district-level medical facilities has proven particularly useful in helping saved as many lives as possible.

The staff of the Hai Chau Emergency Station transferring the critically ill patient to the Da Nang Hospital for treatment

Many seriously injured accident victims or seriously ill patients receive must-need first aid before being rushed to hospitals by these ‘satellite’ emergency stations’ dedicated staffers.

Simply put, these stations have been able to make full use of their human sources to rescue victims in the quickest possible way, taking advantage of the ‘golden time in treatment’, typically providing first aid no more than 5 minutes after receiving information.

More recently, the Hoa Vang District Emergency Station’s medical staff, in a prompt yet effective fashion, conducted the steps of successfully accessing, giving first aid,  taking a male patient with an unexpected stroke from Hoa Phu Commune, Hoa Vang District to hospital.

“Upon assessing his initial signs, we immediately moved the man to the General Da Nang Hospital. Fortunately, it is still within the so-called ‘Golden Time’, which is considered a good chance to save their lives, so his recovery rate is at very high”, said the doctor Dang Viet Hoi, Deputy Head of the Hoa Vang District Emergency Station.

It is the fact that, the gold time, the first 3 hours after a stroke, are the crucial ones for getting life-saving treatment.  In the golden hours, every minute passes, 2 million brain cells die.  Accordingly, after 3 hours, the brain will damage totally and doctors also can not save patients.  However, most victims usually are rushed to hospital after experiencing the symptoms, such as numbness, difficulty speaking and vertigo.

If treated in time, most stroke patients resume normal lives after several days of treatment in hospital. 

In particular, they are always racing against time because every minute that passes reduces patients' chances of survival.

According to Da Nang Department of Health, every year, there are a combined total of more than 15,000 patients suffering from acute illnesses and accidents-sparked injuries, needing emergency aid on the spot and transportation to hospital.

In particular, in many cases, the severely-ill were rushed to hospital by their relatives at the nearest medical facility. However, due to the lack of first aid and proper  transportation, the victims finally suffered serious health consequences, even succumbed to their deadly injuries. In a great attempt to handle this deeply concerning fact, since 2012, out-of-hospital emergency service under the 115 Emergency Centre made its debut at district-level medical centres.

Doctor Tran Cong Thong, Deputy Director of the 115 Emergency Centre, highlighting the emergency stations in handling urgent cases at the fastest tempo.

Currently, the 115 Emergency Centre is equipped with 20 ambulances that are evenly distributed in the districts. Here, each emergency team consists of three staffers who work around the clock.

In hopefully, more spending on infrastructure systems at these emergency stations will be further promoted in the coming time.

By PHAN CHUNG- Translated by A.T.