To focus on emergency medical services and healthcare during the Lunar New Year 2024 in Vietnam

To focus on emergency medical services and healthcare during the Lunar New Year 2024 in Vietnam (Internet image) 

Regarding this issue, LawNet would like to answer as follows:

On January 16, 2024, the Ministry of Health issued Official Dispatch 228/BYT-KCB on strengthening emergency medical services and healthcare during the Lunar New Year of the Year of the Dragon 2024.

To focus on emergency medical services and healthcare during the Lunar New Year 2024 in Vietnam

In accordance with Directive 30/CT-TTg dated December 15, 2023, of the Prime Minister on enhancing measures to ensure a joyful, healthy, safe, and economical Lunar New Year of the Year of the Dragon 2024 and Directive 01/CT-BYT dated January 5, 2024, of the Minister of Health on strengthening healthcare services to ensure a smooth Lunar New Year of the Year of the Dragon 2024, the Ministry of Health requests that relevant authorities direct healthcare facilities to effectively carry out the following tasks in order to ensure the provision of emergency medical services and healthcare to the people during the Lunar New Year.

(1) Ensure four levels of duty: leadership duty, hotline information handling duty, professional duty, and administrative-logistics and security duty. The list of personnel on duty shall be posted in the departments and sections. There should be plans for fire and explosion prevention, mass casualty incidents, prevention of cold-related illnesses for patients, and technical support readiness for lower-level facilities, as well as consultations on specialized matters when necessary.

(2) Organize emergency medical services and healthcare for patients: Sufficient reserves of medicines, blood, intravenous fluids, and necessary equipment and supplies for emergency medical services and healthcare should be available, especially for traffic accidents and food poisoning emergencies. Ensure that all emergency patients receive prompt examination and treatment without refusal or delay. If outside the scope or expertise of the healthcare facility, initial stabilization and full explanation should be provided to the patient and their family before transferring them to another healthcare facility.

(3) Visit and organize Lunar New Year events for patients still undergoing treatment in hospitals during the Lunar New Year: Pay attention to impoverished patients and patients eligible for social welfare. Particularly, focus on improving the spirit of serving patients, communication, and considerate behavior. Adhere to relevant regulations and professional technical procedures.

(4) Have contingency plans for accidents, poisoning, and mass emergencies that may occur: Warn the public about potential accidents during the Lunar New Year, such as stampedes at crowded tourist spots, traffic accidents due to alcohol consumption or fights, fireworks, homemade explosive materials, and food poisoning incidents. Prepare peripheral emergency response plans to be ready for any adverse situations.

(5) Carry out daily online reporting on the online reporting system of the Department of Health Services Administration, as follows:

- Reporting by healthcare facilities: All healthcare facilities with inpatient beds must log in to their accounts, provide complete information about the facility, and submit daily online reports via the software. In cases where there are no inpatients or outpatients on a particular day, an empty report should be submitted.

+ Content of daily online reports:

+ Summarizing emergency medical services and healthcare data (Appendix 1).

+ Detailed list of patient cases (Appendix 2).

- Reporting deadlines:

+ Report on the preparation of emergency medical services and healthcare for the Lunar New Year at 8:00 a.m. on February 7, 2024: Healthcare facilities should submit final data for the previous shift (existing patients) by the end of the night shift on February 6, 2024, to hand over to the next shift on February 7, 2024, for the initial report (old patients).

+ Official daily Lunar New Year reports: from February 8, 2024, to the end of February 14, 2024 (from December 29 to January 5 according to the lunar calendar). The reporting data for the Lunar New Year should start at 7:00 a.m. on February 7, 2024, and be reported on the morning of February 8, 2024; the data for February 14, 2024, should be reported on February 15, 2024. In cases of special developments requiring immediate reporting, utilize the healthcare hotline.

+ Reports for the 3-day Lunar New Year period and the 7-day Lunar New Year period in written form: Send them via official letter and keep a copy at the hospital.

More details can be found in Official Dispatch 228/BYT-KCB, dated January 16, 2024.

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