Amid surge in COVID-19 cases, Da Nang’s Lien Chieu District has taken proactive steps to establish 25 mobile medical stations, and mobilize personnel as much as possible in an attempt to maximise the important role of these stations, contributing to the effective management of COVID-19 patients at home.

A voluteering female student (left) has been active in supporting the Mobile Medical Station No. 1 located in Hoa Khanh Bac Ward, Lien Chieu District to hand Home Isolation Completion Certificate to a family member of a patient with COVID-19. Photo: DAC MANH

Hoa Khanh Bac is the most populous ward in Lien Chieu District due to the high number of workers employed in factories located in industrial parks. Hence, a combined total of 5 mobile medical stations have been established, of which, the Mobile Medical Station No. 1 located at Thanh Vinh Community House is managing highest number of patients with COVID-19 at home in the district.

Ms. Le Thi Kim Chieu, the Head of the Mobile Medical Station No. 1, said that the station has only 4 medical staff members, 2 volunteers and 3 students of the Viet Nam College of Medical Technology and Pharmacy but it is in charge of managing more than 900 COVID-19 patients who have no symptoms or mild symptoms under home-based isolation and care.

Ms Chieu higlighted the efforts of the staff of the Mobile Medical Station No. 1 in providing close monitoring and effective care for such patients to help them make a full recovery from the illness depite the burden of high workload on them.

These mobile medical stations take the responsibility of identifying all COVID-19 patients who are eligible for home-based treatment in their locales as well as identifying high-risk patients. They aim to ensure appropriate monitoring of such patients and timely detection of those with risk factors for disease severity and progression, thus avoiding late presentation and decreasing morbidity and mortality among COVID-19 patients. In particular, staff of these stations are paying special attention to providing effective and close monitoring of high-risk patients with appropriate referral to healthcare facilities.  

The mobile medical stations are fully equipped with COVID-19 essential medical devices, including oxygen cylinders, oxygen concentrators, SpO2 monitors, or a blood oxygen saturation monitors, emergency drugs, and personal protective equipment. These stations are working closely with relevant units to deal with COVID-19 patients based on the individual situation of them through flexible and effective practices.

Apart from providing medical advice and care for COVID-19 patients at home-based treatment, staff of mobile medical stations have been active in supporting and guiding local residents to complete COVID-19 medical declaration form, issuing Home Isolation Completion Certificates and medical certificates for sick leave for eligible people to help them enjoy social insurance benefits. Staff and volunteers of mobile medical stations have also encourged the use of mobile apps to make personal information declaration among local residents who want to get these certificates in efforts to limit public crowds in the waiting areas in a bid to prevent and combat the pandemic.

Doctor Tran Viet Tien, the Deputy Director of the Lien Chieu District Medical Centre, said that in addition to ward-level medical stations, a combined total of 25 mobile medical stations are operating across the district with more than 100 healthcare workers plus 50 students of the Viet Nam College of Medical Technology and Pharmacy who have been deployed to these stations to support the management of COVID-19 patients under home-based isolation.

Doctor Tien said that healthcare workers in the district have been overwhelmed since the Lunar New Year Holiday as the district have seen a rapid rise in COVID-19 cases.

He remarked that the surge in the number of cases has exacerbated the pressure on the already strained health systems. Therefore, the establishment of the mobile medical stations proves effective in managing COVID-19 patients at home, contributing to reducing the burden on local medical stations as well as lowering patient load in hospitals, Doctor Tien added.

Such patients also benefit from faster and more convenient health care offered by mobile medical stations, he said.

“Doctors and healthcare workers are overwhelmed by surge in COVID-19 cases but they are doing their utmost to provide the best care for infected patients under home isolation to help them recover from the illness”, emphasized Doctor Tran Viet Tien.

Reporting by DAC MANH – translating by H.L