The Ministry of Health affirmed it is "necessary and urgent" to put national and regional intensive care centres into operation to improve emergency and critical care capacity in hospitals nationwide, meeting the treatment for COVID-19 patients in the coming time.
Accordingly, 12 centres will be set up in North, Central and South Vietnam, located in 12 hospitals, with the assigned target for each from 200-3,000 beds.
In addition, the ministry has also designated over 30 hospitals to invest in, upgrade and establish regional intensive care centres with a minimum of 50-100 beds each, standing ready to expand their scale to 150-300 beds, depending on actual conditions.
The Ministry of Health also decided to establish an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) in Binh Duong province with 200 ventilators and assigned Assoc. Prof., Dr. Nguyen Lan Hieu, Director of Hanoi Medical University Hospital, as its director.
At a meeting on yesterday afternoon (July 29) with Binh Duong authorities, Health Minister Nguyen Thanh Long urged the province to strictly implement Directive 16 of the Prime Minister on strict social distancing, combined with rapid testing to cut off the source of infection.
Long also committed to mobilising more human resources to support the province in speeding up its local COVID-19 vaccination campaign.
Leaders of the Ministry of Health and Binh Duong province survey the expected site for the 500-bed ICU centre. (Photo: Thai Binh)
After the meeting, leaders of the Ministry of Health and Binh Duong province went to survey a site at the Eastern International University in Binh Duong New City for the establishment of the ICU Centre with a scale of 500 beds.
On July 30, the People's Committee of Tien Giang province announced that the Mekong Delta locality has put into operation its first COVID-19 Resuscitation Centre, located at the Tien Giang Traditional Medicine Hospital in My Tho City.
With a capacity of 90 beds, the centre provides treatment for critically-ill COVID-19 patients in the province in an effort to minimise fatalities among severely ill patients.
Earlier on the same day, around 1,000 units of blood were promptly transported by air from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City to support Cho Ray Hospital where there is a shortage of blood for emergency treatment.
After just more than 2 hours, at 4 am this morning, colleagues at Cho Ray Blood Transfusion Centre received the blood and brought it to a safe warehouse.
Currently, blood banks across the country are facing difficulties due to the continuous postponement and cancellation of blood donation schedules.
