Tet in the hospital
Gathering around the New Year's Eve dinner table; celebrating Tet with family is a simple happiness. However, not everyone is lucky enough to have that complete happiness... Especially for the sick and medical staff in the hospital.
Sadness and joy beside the hospital bed on Tet holiday
On January 28, 2025 (the 29th day of the Lunar New Year), in the grounds of Nghe An General Hospital - the largest hospital in the province, the atmosphere was quieter than usual. Very few people came to see a doctor. Occasionally, there were urgent buses carrying people to the emergency room. A few patients recovered in time, were discharged from the hospital, and boarded late buses to go home to celebrate New Year's Eve with their families.
Unlike the atmosphere of the last day of the year outside, in the hospital's treatment departments, the doctors and nurses are still busy, urgent, trying every second to save people. The huge cycle of work has never stopped. According to the report at the beginning of the day, the hospital still has about 800 inpatients. The vast majority of them will have to welcome the new year in their hospital beds.
At the Department of Nephrology - Urology - Dialysis, all the hospital beds are full of people undergoing dialysis. NTN (9 years old, from Do Luong district; has end-stage renal failure, has had to rent a room for dialysis for the past 5 years) sadly said: "My health is weak. Every 2 days, I have to undergo dialysis once. I can't go home this Tet"...
Mr. TTA (46 years old, in Dien Chau district) - a patient who is undergoing dialysis at the department, smiled and shared his feelings: "In the morning, I ride a 3-wheeled motorbike in. After dialysis, I will go home to celebrate the New Year with my family. Having a terminal illness, sometimes I want to give up. But thinking about my wife, children, and family, I try harder."
Sharing the sadness with patients who could not return home for Tet, congratulating patients who were able to reunite with their families, doctors and nurses of the Department of Nephrology - Urology - Dialysis have carefully instructed each patient on how to eat, take care of the dialysis bridge, monitor and record blood pressure before and after meals, monitor weight, water intake and output; as well as clearly recommending "The Department operates throughout Tet. Everyone needs to do dialysis on schedule or their lives will be in danger".
At the Intensive Care Unit, the space seemed to freeze. All we could hear was the lifeless “beep, beep” of the machines; the hurried footsteps of the doctors; the turning of patients and the sad, anxious sighs of their families...
For doctors and nurses in the Intensive Care Unit, the workload and intensity during Tet holidays are much greater than usual. During Tet, many non-public hospitals and private clinics close, causing a surge of patients; patients from other departments are also transferred here.
Dr. Nguyen Duc Phuc - Head of Intensive Care Department confided: "On Tet holiday, brothers and sistersmedicalThere is never a end to our work. We have to constantly race to save patients from life-threatening situations. Before one patient is finished, another patient comes along. On the department’s cupboard, there are some banh chung brought from home, and a box of instant noodles. If anyone is hungry, they can put boiling water in them and eat them before getting up to continue working. In the hustle and bustle of work, sometimes it is 3-4 am before we remember we haven’t had dinner yet...”.
The doctors and nurses in the Intensive Care Unit are very “afraid” of Tet. They have never had a full Tet holiday... However, facing the demands of their duties and the lives of their patients in danger, they are always ready to take on the duty of being on duty during Tet with the mindset of entering the battle to save their lives.
During these Tet holidays, the hardest working are still the staff of the Emergency Department. Every day, the Emergency Department of Nghe An General Hospital receives about 200 - 250 patients. During Tet holidays, the number of patients increases to over 300 cases/day. Among them, there are many critical cases due to traffic accidents.
Master, Doctor Nguyen Huu Tan - Head of the Emergency Department, who often takes on the shift throughout the old year and the new year, said: “Many times, lunch is at 5 pm. Dinner is at 12 am. A hasty meal consists of only banh chung. Eating hastily to have the strength to continue working... This Tet At Ty 2025, I just hope to have a more peaceful and gentle Tet. Fewer patients need to be hospitalized, especially those in traffic accidents.”
To have a family reunion Tet
This Tet, the patient's family is not alone, there are many doctors and nurses who are still worried, on duty to monitor, and use all their spirit, responsibility, and ability to treat the patient. Dr. Nguyen Ngoc Hoa - Deputy Director of Nghe An General Hospital said: The hospital has scheduled work and arranged human resources carefully. Accordingly, 100% of departments and rooms are open and operate as usual. All departments have increased the number of doctors and nurses. The hospital also gives free meals as well as gifts to patients being treated on this occasion.
In addition, at the time of New Year's Eve, the hospital leaders will visit, encourage, and give lucky money to the medical staff on duty during Tet, as well as the patients staying for treatment... Previously, Nghe An General Hospital of Friendship had directed the departments and rooms to organize many miniature landscapes and spring flower spots in the unit's campus; give essential foods to patients; prepare traditional dishes with Tet flavors in the departments, helping the medical staff celebrate Tet.
During Tet holiday in the hospital, to not let anyone feel sad or lonely, many delegations from the province and locality came to give gifts to patients and medical staff; to share and sympathize with them...
On this last day of the year,Nghe An Department of Healthorganized 2 working groups to visit and give gifts to encourage medical staff participating in the on-duty shift and poor patients, patients with especially difficult conditions being treated at Nghe An General Friendship Hospital and Nghe An Obstetrics and Pediatrics Hospital on the occasion of the traditional Lunar New Year 2025.
Dr. Le Thi Hoai Chung - Director of the Department of Health visited and presented 50 gifts to medical staff on duty and patients at Nghe An General Hospital. Dr. Le Thi Hoai Chung expressed her joy and gratitude to the medical staff who are on duty day and night to treat the people; hoped that the doctors and nurses would continue to uphold the spirit of "A good doctor is like a mother", providing good care and treatment to patients during the time of Tet and Spring; and the hospital would continue to care for and help poor patients and those in difficult circumstances who are being treated during this Lunar New Year.
The Director of the Department of Health shared the difficulties with patients and their families; encouraged patients to feel secure in their treatment, trust in doctors and nurses to quickly recover and soon be able to reunite with their families...
The New Year has come, bringing good news. However, somewhere around us, there are still people who celebrate the New Year with less joy because of pain and illness; there are still medical staff who forget about Tet and Spring to save people. In the last moments of the old year, preparing to enter the new year, I hope everyone will be aware of maintaining their health, taking precautions against accidents and injuries... so that Tet can be a family reunion and Spring will be forever beautiful!./.