Da Nang healthcare system is acting to relieve “very high pressure” on its workforce as a result of rising COVID-19 cases and large numbers of staff having to self-isolate. The focus is on taking drastic measures to provide effective treatment for COVID-19 patients, especially those with severe symptoms.

Despite the challenges doctors and nurses in Da Nang encounter, they are exerting every effort to help the city control the spread of COVID-19 and protect the health of local people. Photo: XUAN SON

Hospitals overwhelmed with virus cases

Data published by the Da Nang Department of Health shows that a total of 1,900 patients are being treated for COVID-19 at 15 healthcare facilities across the city, of whom, 270 have severe symptoms.

In particular, 820 infected patients, including more than 150 people requiring critical care, are under treatment at the Field Hospital No. 1.

Doctor Nguyen Thanh Trung, the Deputy Director of Da Nang General Hospital, said that Da Nang’s hospitals are overwhelmed by COVID-19 cases, and severe case surge is putting greater pressure on health-care workers as severely ill patients need help with personal care activities in addition to medical care.

About 40 extra critical care beds for seriously-ill COVID-19 patients will be installed at the field hospital, Doctor Trung revealed.

The challenges caused by pressures on local healthcare facilities, rising coronavirus numbers and workforce pressures, are causing difficulties for medical staff across the city.

Many healthcare facilities in the city are reporting critical staffing shortages with decreasing staff levels as nurses and doctors themselves fall sick or have to quarantine after being exposed to infected people.

Doctor Nguyen Dai Vinh, the Director of the Hoa Vang District Medical Centre said that 57 out of the hospital’s 300 medical personnel have infected with COVID-19 that cause increasing challenges for the hospital amid surge in cases.

Doctor Vinh called on authorities at local level to send their personnel to support healthcare workers to perform administrative tasks to effectively manage COVID-19 patients under home-based isolation and care in order to reduce the burden on healthcare professionals. In addition, he highlighted the need to mobilize additional resources, including medical students, to assist localities across the city in performing non-clinical jobs to support the city’s efforts in the fight against COVID-19.

A healthcare professional cares for a patient with COVID-19 at the field hospital. Photo: XUAN SON

Addressing personnel shortages in hospitals

Doctor Truong Van Trinh, the Deputy Director of the municipal Department of Health, has warned of the potential for COVID-19 surges in the coming days as many mild or asymptomatic cases go untested or unreported from at-home tests, causing the challenges for healthcare workers to monitor and manage COVID-19 patients in the community. In addition, staff shortages are looming Da Nang’s hospitals as many nurses and doctors themselves have infected with COVID-19.

Apart from installing additional 40 critical care beds at the field hospital No. 1, 300 more beds for seriously-ill COVID-19 patients will be installed at the Da Nang Maternity and Pediatrics Hospital. Besides, the health sector will accelerate the use of oral antiviral medications to treat COVID-19 patients in the community and medical facilities across the city. Moreover, private hospitals, specialized hospitals and district-level medical centers will be used to treat COVID-19 patients in an attempt to reduce overwhelming numbers of infected patients at the Field Hospital No. 1, the Lung Hospital, and Maternity and Pediatrics Hospital.

Healthcare facilities in Da Nang are asked to set up a separate treatment area for COVID-19 patients to reduce cross-contamination risk in these settings while providing the best medical care for non-COVID-19 patients.

Staff from medical facilities will be sent to the Field Hospital No. 1 to support its efforts in providing care for patients with severe symptoms.

Da Nang People's Committee Vice Chairwoman Ngo Thi Kim Yen said that asymptomatic patients with COVID-19 are being isolated and cared at home to recover from the illness while moderate-risk patients are being treated for COVID-19 at healthcare facilities across the city.

Mrs Yen underlined the need for utilization of available resources in healthcare settings across Da Nang to mitigate staff shortages amid rising cases in a bid to provide the best care for COVID-19 patients in the community and hospitals.

Reporting by PHAN CHUNG – LE HUNG – translating by H.L