Vietnam: Hospital overcrowding jeopardizes lives

Vietnam: Hospital overcrowding jeopardizes lives
(Note: Vietnam has H5N1 outbreaks in poultry in at least 2 areas right now. Those areas are Thai Nguyen province in the north-east of the country and Ca Mau in the south. The fifth avian flu death of the year was recorded this month in the northwestern province of Dien Bien. The overcrowding of medical facilities described in this article is the perfect situation for prolonged contact with H1N1 or H5N1 infected people seeking medical treatment. It's also the perfect setup for exposure between H1N1 and H5N1 positive people.)

Vietnamese citizens say they are weary of long line-ups and treatment delays at the country's hospitals. In many healthcare centers, patients are forced to share a bed with two or three other people and face postponement of urgently needed care. Hospital managers say that overcrowded medical clinics puts patients at risk, but feel they are helpless to change the situation.

Sixty-three-year-old patient Ms. Dang Huu Vinh said she had been badly bitten by mosquitoes while sleeping on a cot outside a room in the General Division of Phu Nhuan Hospital (located in an urban district of Ho Chi Minh City). She needed to be hospitalized for high blood pressure but there were no more beds available in the department. She had no choice but to sleep in the hallway at night.

Hundreds of critically ill patients wait their turn to see doctors at the Phu Nhuan Hospital. Ms. Tran Thi Thuy said she had to take a number and wait three hours to a see doctor. Continued: http://english.vietnamnet.vn/H...