At 5:00 a.m. on August 25, in the field screening tent set up right in front of the hospital gate, nurse Ngo Thi Kim Tien, Department of Medical Examination and Treatment, had put on protective gear and was ready to receive the first patient.
Nurse Tien worked continuously for 6 hours wearing protective gear in a plastic screening tent, at times the tent temperature was nearly 40 degrees Celsius.
As noon approached, the electric fan running at full capacity could not stop the intense heat under the protective clothing.
`My colleagues who work the afternoon shift are much more miserable. Some people are too hot, go into shock, become dehydrated, and collapse while still holding the temperature monitor,` Ms. Tien said.
Mr. Xuan, 53 years old, in Tien Giang, an outpatient treated for stomach cancer, came for a follow-up examination and took medicine according to appointment.
`I don’t mind. Now I have cancer, if I get Covid-19 again, I probably won’t be able to survive,` Mr. Xuan said.
By August 27, among the deaths due to Covid-19, there were 5 cases of underlying cancer.
`Cancer patients are vulnerable in the Covid-19 war. Therefore, the hospital has set the goal, at any cost, to absolutely protect patients, not letting the hospital become an outbreak,` said Dr.
Last week, the hospital urgently rearranged its facilities, arranging 12 isolation rooms with more than 70 beds on all floors.
Patients with this underlying condition should absolutely not go out and only have direct contact with medical staff until they are discharged from the hospital.
Dr. Tuan explained: `Those are precious patients. If they are infected with nCoV, the risk of death is constant. We don’t want to lose any patients.`
Cancer patients with serious underlying diseases are transferred to a separate treatment area at the Ho Chi Minh City Oncology Hospital.
For the inpatient group, the hospital prioritizes acute cases.
Currently, Ho Chi Minh City Oncology Hospital has organized 9 satellite oncology hospitals in provinces with enough treatment capacity, including Da Nang, Binh Dinh, Nha Trang, Lam Dong, Dong Nai, Bach Lieu, Ca Mau.
Outpatient groups, the hospital conducts follow-up examinations every three months and ensures adequate medication distribution.
To ensure medical examination starts at 5:00 a.m., Dr. Tuan shared that there are doctors and nurses living in Cu Chi and Nha Be, 20-30 km from the hospital, who have to wake up at 3:30 a.m. to catch the earliest bus.
Besides internal solutions, from outside the gate, preventive measures are also very strict.
Electronic medical declaration at Ho Chi Minh City Oncology Hospital.
Dr. Tuan said that the two-time screening regulation is intended to not miss patients returning from epidemic areas who make dishonest medical declarations.
If there are no signs of disease or epidemiological factors, the patient is allowed to go inside, go to the departments, and go through the second round of screening.
Patients who have been exposed to F0 or returned from an outbreak are taken to a more thorough screening room and, if necessary, taken to an isolation room for medical care and sample collection.
People returning from epidemic areas who have not been to at-risk locations, have no symptoms, or have completed 14 days of quarantine as prescribed, will be examined normally and instructed to quarantine at home.
`The hospital sympathizes with the psychology of patients wanting to be examined and treated quickly and early, but for the general safety of the hospital and the community as well as the patients themselves, we must drastically apply measures.`
Thu Anh
