In July 2016, implementing the cooperation program on medical examination, treatment and training of medical personnel, Nghe An General Hospital sent 3 doctors (phase 1) to work at Xieng Khouang General Hospital. The 3 volunteer doctors "taking the lead" include: Phan Sy Thai (Department of Trauma - Orthopedics); Tran Huu Hieu (specialty in Anesthesia); Vo Ta Trung (Department of Obstetrics)... The task of the 3 doctors is to transfer medical examination and treatment techniques to foreign doctors through the form of hands-on training. The working trip is expected to last at least 1 month, until Xieng Khouang General Hospital doctors master the transferred techniques and apply them in practice.
Doctor Trung said: “When I first arrived, I was really surprised because Xieng Khouang General Hospital, which is a provincial hospital, is only equivalent to a district hospital in Nghe An. Equipment and human resources are very lacking. Your working process is not synchronized, especially the coordination between the Clinical Department, Anesthesia, Infection Control and Instrumentation Department, making it difficult to perform emergency surgery promptly and quickly. Therefore, during our work here, in addition to transferring techniques, we also contributed ideas so that Xieng Khouang General Hospital can modify the process to be more reasonable.”
The transfer of technology encountered many difficulties because your hospital lacked the necessary medical equipment. In return, many of your doctors and nurses knew Vietnamese and were very eager to learn about their expertise. When doctors from Nghe An gave advice, the hospital's Board of Directors paid close attention and immediately sent staff to Nghe An to study or recorded in a memorandum of understanding to request additional support in the missing areas. Therefore, in this first phase, the transfer of technology basically achieved the set goal.
During one month of working at Xieng Khouang General Hospital, Dr. Trung was able to transfer some commonly used techniques to treat patients to other doctors, such as: Placenta previa surgery, breech delivery, complete hysterectomy; patient monitoring process during labor; monitoring and treatment process for pregnant women with complications, hemorrhage... Similarly, many other techniques in the field of trauma and anesthesia have also been transferred effectively by Dr. Thai and Dr. Hieu.
Nghe An doctors have also directly participated in examining and treating many Lao patients in critical condition, such as the case of a Laotian woman with postpartum hemorrhage who was directly saved by a Vietnamese doctor who donated blood. That was the case of the pregnant woman Keo (26 years old) who was transferred from the district emergency department to Xieng Khouang General Hospital on July 18, 2016. After a cesarean section, the pregnant woman experienced uterine inertia and postpartum hemorrhage. To ensure the life of the pregnant woman, the urgent requirement was to have a blood transfusion to compensate and clot the blood. However, at that time, Xieng Khouang General Hospital could only mobilize 1 unit of blood type A (matching the patient's blood type)... Without hesitation, 3 Nghe An doctors volunteered to donate blood to save a person. Fortunately, Dr. Phan Sy Thai had the same blood type as the pregnant woman Keo. 30 minutes later, Dr. Thai's blood contributed to saving the pregnant woman Keo's life.
In 2016, Nghe An General Hospital also sent 12 more highly qualified doctors to directly train Xieng Khouang General Hospital, focusing on the specialties of Anesthesia - Resuscitation, Obstetrics - Gynecology, Trauma - Orthopedics, and Endocrinology. Dr. Pham Hong Phuong - Deputy Director of Nghe An General Hospital said: "This year, in addition to transferring techniques, the hospital's doctors also directly examined, performed surgery, intervened, and treated 354 patients right at the neighboring hospital."
Dr. Pham Hong Phuong added: The cooperation in transferring techniques to Xieng Khouang General Hospital is carried out in accordance with the model of a central hospital in Vietnam transferring techniques to Nghe An General Hospital. In addition to sending doctors to the place to "hold hands and guide", Nghe An General Hospital has also received medical staff from Xieng Khouang General Hospital to study. The hospital has deployed "one Vietnamese doctor with one Lao doctor"... Up to now, Xieng Khouang General Hospital has sent 19 staff to study in depth at Nghe An General Hospital. They study in 6 batches; the short period is 2 months, the long period is 6 months.
Dr. Nguyen Duc Vuong - Head of the Department of Trauma and Orthopedics, Nghe An General Hospital said: “According to the assignment, the hospital doctors teach the doctors of Xieng Khouang General Hospital both theory and practice step by step. First, they demonstrate and teach specifically. For a surgery, it starts from incision to clearly showing the precautions to avoid complications and how to handle them if complications occur. When the doctors of Xieng Khouang General Hospital have mastered it, they will perform each small part of the work, then the whole thing. The doctors of Nghe An General Hospital always closely follow this process. When the doctors return to Xieng Khouang, the hospital also donates more medical equipment to implement the technique.”
Thanks to the dedicated transfer, the doctors at Xieng Khouang General Hospital quickly mastered and skillfully implemented new techniques. Doctor Viladet Praphasili - Director of Xieng Khouang General Hospital said: "After being trained at Nghe An General Hospital, Doctor Thip Phavonnavongsy has independently performed many difficult resuscitation techniques such as placing endotracheal cannulas and monitoring patients on ventilators. Doctor Khamsuc Synuankham can perform tendon connections, skin grafts, leg bone fusion, patella fusion, and hand injuries. Midwife Hong Alunintavan and nurse Sulivon Sivansay can assist with endoscopic surgery."
Dr. Bo Vang was able to remove tonsils, diagnose and treat some basic diseases in the field of ENT. After training in Surgery, Dr. Duangxay and Dr. Manivan were able to perform emergency appendectomy and suture of perforated stomachs. Dr. Viladet himself was also able to perform laparoscopic surgery for ectopic pregnancy, ovarian cysts, uterine fibroids, and examine patients with genital prolapse.
Statistics of Xieng Khouang General Hospital: After training, the unit performed 398 laparoscopic surgeries; 433 bone and joint surgeries; 6 laparoscopic obstetric and gynecological surgeries; outpatient examination of endocrine diseases - diabetes for 653 people, treatment for 339 people; 184 ear - nose - throat surgeries... These are techniques that the unit could not perform before training.
Doctor Viladet Praphasili affirmed: “After 7 years of receiving training and transfer from Nghe An General Hospital, Xieng Khouang General Hospital has had remarkable development. The number of patients coming for examination, treatment, and surgery has increased rapidly; the hospital has deployed many new and advanced techniques; many critical cases have been saved… The position, reputation, and revenue of the hospital have been enhanced.”
Dr. Pham Hong Phuong shared: “In the past 2 years, the Covid-19 pandemic has disrupted the direct training process. Nghe An General Hospital and Xieng Khouang General Hospital switched to online training and consultation, periodically 1 session/week. At this time, the pandemic has temporarily subsided, training activities will continue in the form of direct training; periodic online consultation; ad hoc online consultation. The hospital will also advise other hospitals on purchasing equipment to promote the capacity of staff, better meeting the needs of patients".