April 2023 began with Linh’s cough. The next event was a 6-day treatment program at Đức Tâm Children’s Hospital. Fortunately, we were able to schedule our time well, so the 6 days passed peacefully, Linh’s health was stable, i and my wife were still fine, and we could still take care of the house a little bit.
Ten days before that, Linh had a cough, but it went away. Then the cough came back in fits and starts rather than all day long, and it felt like there was phlegm. The cough was accompanied by a mild fever of 38 degrees Celsius for two days in the evening.
On the morning of April 3, Linh’s mother took her to the doctor for a checkup. The chest X-ray and blood test showed that Linh’s lungs were cloudy. The doctor diagnosed pneumonia and admitted her to the hospital. This is the first time that Linh has been hospitalized for an illness.
It is advisable to get medical treatment at the hospital, even if it is a bit of a hassle due to the hours and procedures. However, this is still better than going to private clinics. At private clinics, doctors do not have specialized equipment, do not do blood tests, but only use a stethoscope to listen to the lungs and look at the throat to diagnose the disease and prescribe medication. There are not a few cases where they also sell syrup to gain weight along with the medication… The medication taken home may not be effective, but it can prolong the disease.
The laziness and impulsive nature of parents are also factors that facilitate the survival of these clinics and make patients dependent on medication.
1. Why i choose Duc Tam childrent’s Hospital?
My colleague suggested that we should go to the Thiện Hạnh Hospital, because it is also clean and close to home. But my wife had already done the treatment procedures at the Đức Tâm Children’s Hospital before, so we did not change our mind again. Anyway, there are some acceptable reasons:
- This hospital specializes in treating children.
- The way patients are cared for, the way the facilities and equipment are arranged are suitable for children.
- Parents can easily sympathize with each other in situations where children cry and shout.
- The rules on visiting patients are not too difficult.
However, this hospital is located on the bypass outside the city center, so it is a bit far away. It is not far from the Buôn Ma Thuột University of Medicine, separated by a roundabout and located on the bypass with a hard barrier, making it a bit isolated and inconvenient for traffic. But in the future, this area will gradually be filled with other large projects.
In addition to the Đức Tâm Children’s Hospital, there are hospitals in Đak Lak that I see have good medical services: Thiện Hạnh Hospital, Buôn Ma Thuột University of Medicine Hospital. These hospitals all have health insurance treatment. However, unlike public hospitals. The above hospitals charge service fees or non-insurance drugs at quite high prices.
The reason for the high cost of medical examination and treatment, drug prices today is partly due to the fact that after the Covid-19 pandemic, the Vietnamese healthcare system has been corrupted, corrupt, and many shortcomings in drug and medical equipment bidding. Therefore, at this time, the drug insurance fund for the people is exhausted. So when treating patients have to use drugs outside the insurance list with very high costs. All the harm caused by the greedy people have to be borne by the patients.
I hope that I will not have to see any more sick scenes that have to go to the hospital. But if this happens, I will probably consider choosing a different medical facility.
2. Facilities of Duc Tam Children’s Hospital
The facilities at this hospital are quite good compared to the average in Dak Lak. During my stay in the hospital, I saw that they built a few more functional rooms. The campus is airy, with many trees.
The number of departments is not too many, but it is temporarily enough for the needs in the provinces. Especially, there is also treatment for children with speech delay or with movement, reflex, and hyperactivity disorders.
The space for children to play has four areas with many trees and toys. But the toys have not been maintained for a long time, so they are gradually damaged and not kept clean.
The inpatient room where my daughter was treated costs 500,000 VND/day, with a maximum capacity of 4 patients at a time. There is a spacious bathroom inside. Bed linen is changed twice a day. The room is equipped with air conditioning with fan, the temperature is set to 26 degrees. The bathroom is also cleaned twice a day, with solar hot water available.
However, there are many large mosquitoes in the room. Looking at the reviews on Google, there are also people who have encountered this situation. I had to bring along a mosquito repellent and use mosquito repellent cream.
There are many water purifiers arranged in the corridors. Very convenient for patients’ families. Outside, there is a laundry area where patients’ families can wash and dry clothes when they have to stay for long-term treatment.
3. Medical examination and treatment qualifications
The staff is mostly young, enthusiastic, and quick. As for their qualifications, I don’t know yet. I don’t have any data to evaluate the doctors’ qualifications, such as where they graduated from, how much experience they have, and how good they are.
Here, we don’t have to discriminate against or underestimate the age of medical professionals. It’s not that young people are not skilled. Many young people are very good and eager to update their skills. But in practice, in addition to theory, doctors need to be exposed to a lot of cases to improve their skills. This is a reality that can be seen through Dr. Bach (512-bed hospital in Binh Duong) and Dr. Thi (Thong Nhat Hospital), who are relatives in my family. Daily contact with many cases makes their skills more solid than their age.
The professional meeting room is arranged so that patients can easily contact if needed, and the coordination between nurses and doctors is quite fast. When there are questions from patients, even if the on-call doctor is not present, the information is quickly transferred to colleagues for support. It may also be because there are fewer departments here, so the management model is more streamlined than in larger hospitals.
According to observations and comments from parents in the same room, Đức Tâm Children’s Hospital does quite well in services and common diseases. For serious cases, special cases, those requiring surgery, or those requiring special care in the ICU, they are not yet equipped to handle them. Obviously, the serious cases will be transferred to hospitals with more expertise and equipment.
As for the issue of taking veins, it probably depends on the child. Many parents feel sorry for their children when they take a vein. But in the case of my daughter, she took it quickly and accurately. However, children are often playful, so the vein can be damaged after a day and a new vein must be taken. For example, Linh had to take a vein 4 times in 6 days in the hospital.
The point that is easily noticed during this hospitalization period is that most cases are related to respiratory and fever. All patients in the same room have bronchitis and pneumonia. In the morning when I took my daughter to the injection room, I met two mothers and children who came to see a doctor and also had respiratory problems.
Because of the characteristic of pneumonia, the main treatment method is still anti-inflammatory by using antibiotics through infusion, combined with inhalation. On the fourth day of admission, the disease had improved significantly. However, according to the treatment plan, it is necessary to use enough antibiotics to prevent antibiotic resistance. Therefore, it was not discharged until the 6th day, with a prescription to take at home.
Since we were already in the hospital, we took Linh to see a nutritionist and a cardiologist. The cardiologist was consulted by the doctor, because when she was born, the hospital had already done a blood test on her heel, but this method did not detect many other congenital diseases.
In terms of nutrition, the conclusion is that she is deficient in zinc and slightly anemic. Zinc and iron need to be supplemented through the change from fresh milk to formula milk. However, the parents chose to supplement through a syrup for faster results. And still prioritize eating, not too dependent on formula milk.
About the heart, after almost half an hour of ultrasound, it was concluded that she had a mild heart valve defect. This is a type of physiological heart valve defect that is common in many children and adults. The advice is to keep an eye on it regularly.
3.1 Something about the parent’s reaction
Reading the review in the image above, we see that there are still some incorrect reactions when patients are required to stay for the full course of treatment. We must understand that disease remission is different from complete recovery. Many people when they see their condition improve want to go to work early, or do not take enough medication. However, the disease has only improved and has the potential to worsen again.
The type of treatment that is not enough dosage, not enough protocol is the main cause of antibiotic resistance. Makes it easy to relapse and makes it difficult for subsequent treatments. In the case of Linh, she was discharged from the hospital on April 9, 2023. But on April 17, she had a slight fever during the day and on the morning of April 18, she spat out yellow phlegm. This means that it is very easy for children to re-infect. Children are less resistant than adults, so it is advisable to respect the treatment protocol.
Some parents also have a negative reaction to injections. Injections act faster than oral administration, and ensure the correct dosage. Because when children take medicine, they often vomit it out again.
At the time of payment, the father was still provided with a list of drugs and services used, the amount of insurance paid … The medical record, treatment protocol is of course not returned. This is a regulation in the health sector.
Even in the case of my mother’s stroke treatment at the Tay Nguyen General Hospital and the Thong Nhat Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City, the documents on costs, drugs, and protocols were only given to read to understand and grasp the treatment costs. I took a picture and the hospital kept the original.
Medical records will be stored, if there is a need to access, patients can follow the regulations below:
4. Food service at Duc Tam Children’s Hospital
The canteen in this hospital is the most obvious shortcoming. The general opinion of the parents in the same room is that the food is bad, with a spicy taste that makes it difficult for children to eat.
There are also some porridge dishes that are not very delicious, with a lack of green vegetables and more roots, and the porridge has a simple salty taste compared to the taste of children. The menu is not very diverse, and deep-fried spring rolls and fish cakes are always available.
On the shelf of cakes and candies, I saw many expired products, so I didn’t buy them.
In conclusion, it is a children’s hospital, but the way the canteen sets the menu and the taste is not suitable for children. To be frank, it is not focused on serving children. Children are more sensitive to taste than adults, and their endurance is also worse, so they can’t eat even a little spicy food.
After staying overnight, not only me but also other parents also bring food from outside, and some days I cook food at home and bring it up to change the taste.
Due to the remote location of the hospital, there are no shops nearby, and they are not diverse. If the managers invest more in the cafeteria, they will be able to increase revenue.
The hospital management should communicate with the chef to improve the situation. Only by listening to the customers can the business situation and the reputation of the hospital be improved
5. This hospital has too little information on the internet
Currently, the Đức Tâm Children’s Hospital has a website called ductamhospital.vn. However, the amount of information on it is very limited. The information that is available is also not clear and complete about the specialties and types of diseases that the hospital can treat. A Google search shows that there are many questions about health insurance. These regulations can be easily posted on the website to increase interaction.
When I went to the second floor of the hospital, I saw the IT department. Managing, maintaining, and posting content for this type of website is not difficult. I don’t understand why they don’t do it. We can just take a look at the websites of other hospitals to see what information they post, and what tools they use to interact with patients. Then we can adjust and follow their example.
