Ministry monitors post-flood diseases

HA NOI — Health Minister Nguyen Quoc Trieu has instructed health departments and relevant authorities in central flood-hit areas to carefully watch for and prevent an outbreak of flood-related diseases.

He asked local health departments to focus on post-flood diseases, including dengue fever, acute diarrhoea, and skin diseases to prevent them from spreading.

Trieu instructed local health departments to look into building health clinics on stilts in order to minimise damages from flash floods and heavy downpours.

He highlighted nine health clinics that are currently operated by local army divisions and people and agreed to provide VND300 million (US$15,300) to each so they can upgrade their medical equipment and facilities.

Local authorities proposed the purchase of sterilisation machines for flood-prone areas to facilitate timely distribution of Chloramine B to submerged households to give them access to clean drinking water.

Transportation systems designed specifically for use during the rainy seasons were needed to transfer patients in serious conditions to central hospitals for treatment, he said.

Dengue fever

Preventive medicine centres reported that dengue fever has broken out in many central areas recently.

In Nghe An Province's Dien Chau District, 32 people were reported with the mosquito-borne fever in recent days. The province's Nam Dan, Quynh Luu and Nghi Loc districts also reported several cases.

Nghe An Province's Health Department has asked relevant agencies to help prevent the spread of dengue by spraying chemicals and cleaning up areas where mosquitoes could breed.

Dr Ton That Thanh, head of the Da Nang City Preventive Medicine Centre, said the fever had hit many districts including Hai Chau, Son Tra, Thanh Khe and Lien Chieu, with 3,500 cases reported since the beginning of this month, five times more than the same period last year. One person had died from the fever, he said.

Hospitals and health clinics in the worst-hit districts of Da Nang couldn't find enough beds to cope with the growing number of dengue cases.

The Preventive Medicine Centre in Quang Nam Province said the number of dengue case was increasing to around 1,300 patients. On average, three patients are being forced to share one bed at the provincial general hospital.

The Ministry of Health has provided 200 litres of chemicals and 28 sprayers to the flood-hit provinces. The ministry's Trade Union also provided VND220 million ($11,220) to these provinces. — VNS

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Sterilisation begins in flood-hit areas to avoid health risks

HA NOI — Authorities and health clinics in flood-hit areas have been ordered to promptly deal with water pollution and other health threats to enable residents to regain their lifestyles.

Coaches and buses have also been called in to transport passengers in sections of the North-South railway that have been inundated or swept away.

Central region authorities were asked by the Viet Nam Environment Administration to sterilise public places, such as hospitals, health clinics and schools, with sprays to kill mosquitoes and prevent post-flood diseases.

They were also told to strengthen food hygiene and safety inspections in problem areas now that further threats from Storm Megi are unlikely.

Donations for flood victims can be transferred to Viet Nam News via account numbers 001.1.37.2310047 for US dollars and 001.1.00.2310028 for Vietnamese dong at the Vietcombank. All the money will be transferred to the Viet Nam Fatherland Front and used to support flood victims.

The administration also asked coastal provinces and cities to clean up beaches, river mouths, and repair landslides.

In turn, flood-hit residents have been instructed to collect rubbish, bury dead cattle and poultry far from water sources and sterilise their wells and breeding facilities as soon as the flood retreats.

The Environmental Protection Fund has provided VND2.1 billion (US$107,100) to help clean up Quang Binh, Ha Tinh, Quang Tri and Thua Thien-Hue provinces.

The latest report from the National Steering Committee for Storm and Flood Prevention and Control shows that flooding in the central region has left 76 people dead, six missing and 42 injured.

More than 230 communes were still submerged and 90 low-lying communes isolated. Rescue teams have managed to supply food and clean water to all affected areas.

Most flooded roads have now been cleared and re-opened for vehicles.

Le Thanh Hai, deputy director of the National Hydro Meteorological Forecast Centre, said Storm Megi was not likely to cause any further harm to Viet Nam and people should therefore concentrate on overcoming the consequences of the floods.

The storm is forecast to move north at a speed of between five and 10kph and be over China's Guangdong Province for the next 48 to 72 hours.

About VND11 billion ($561,000), plus clothing, foodstuffs and medical supplies have been donated to support flood victims in Nghe An Province, where houses, livestock and crops worth more than VND1.7 trillion ($86.7 million) were swept away by floods.

Dutch dairy company FrieslandCampina Viet Nam donated 21,000 cartons of milk worth more than VND4 billion (US$205,100) to flood victims in the provinces of Ha Tinh, Nghe An, Quang Binh, Quang Tri, and Thua Thien-Hue. — VNS

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Private clinics treat insured

by Gia Loc

A patient undergoes an ultrasound scan at Phuc Hung private clinic in central Quang Ngai Province. Private clinics and hospitals expect to see more patients because of the better services and facilities on offer. — VNA/VNS Photo Thanh Long

HCM CITY — By 2014, all Vietnamese residents will be covered by national health insurance, and, as a result, competition between public and private facilities will increase, according to an official with the Social Insurance Agency in HCM City.

Bui Minh Dong, deputy head of the agency, said most private health facilities would probably sign contracts with the Social Insurance Agency in coming years because of the increased number of patients covered under national health insurance.

All of the private facilities in HCM City, which currently treat 10 per cent of patients, have already signed contracts with the city's Social Insurance Agency.

These include the hospitals of An Sinh, Hoan My, Trieu An, Phu Tho and My Duc.

The number of private hospitals and health clinics in HCM City this year increased by 10 per cent over last year, and is expected to rise when more people are covered by health insurance.

Dong said that private clinics and hospitals were expected to see more and more patients because of the better service attitude and facilities at these health establishments.

According to Ton That Quynh Trung, chief executive officer of Phuoc An Medical Centre (HEPA), one of the first private hospitals and health clinics in HCM City, the professional conduct and quality of doctors and nurses as well as other staff in private facilities help attract patients, including those that are insured.

He said his medical centre had signed an agreement with the HCM City Social Insurance Agency to accept patients with national health insurance.

Trung pointed out that many hospitals, however, had discriminated against patients who were covered by national health insurance.

The hospitals preferred immediate payments instead of later reimbursements from the national fund, he explained.

"The national insurance fund pays the fees for insured patients and the hospital must wait for these," he said.

Trung said that all hospitals and health clinics should improve quality and invest in new, modern facilities that offer more comfort to patients.

Phuoc An treated 131,000 insured patients for the second quarter, an increase of 20,000 over this year's first quarter.

Trung noted that more private medical facilities like Phuoc An would help reduce the patient overload at public hospitals and health clinics.

"More private hospitals and health clinics are signing contracts with the city social insurance agency so we can meet the demand of residents and treat them more easily and effectively," he added.

Public health facilities have for years held a monopoly in the market.

But new competition between private and public health facilities will help raise healthcare quality, and will add more payments to the general insurance fund, according to Trung.

As fees rise at hospitals in the next few years, the insurance fund is expected to pay a higher proportion of each patient's fee.

When that occurs, the insured patient will likely not have to pay as much at private hospitals as they do now. Private facilities often add fees like bed charges to the patient's bill.

Nearly 4.6 million people of 8 million in HCM City are currently insured. There are 140 public and private hospitals and health clinics. — VNS

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