THANH TUNG MEDICAL STATION VIETNAM

Transcription

1 THANH TUNG MEDICAL STATION VIETNAM ANNUAL REPORT 2011

2 Thanh Tung Medical Station Annual Report - Vietnam 2 Thanh Tung Medical Station 2011 Established: 1999 Project Description Location: Target group: Local partners: CNCF Staff: Monitoring Visits: Gia Canh Hamlet, Dinh Quan District, Dong Nai Province Poor and disadvantaged families in the area The People s Committee of Dinh Quan Ms. Son Thu Trinh, Ms. Tran Thi Hong Hue Biannual periodical monitoring and evaluation CNCF Involvement: Full funding and supervision Budget 2011: USD 7, Future Plans: Maintain current medical operations, focus more on raising awareness towards preventative healthcare Reporting Period: January- December 2011 Compiled By: Tran Thi Hong Hue

3 Thanh Tung Medical Station Annual Report - Vietnam 3 Table of Contents Programme Background Medical Services Preventative Services Awareness Raising Activities Highlights 2011 In photos

4 Thanh Tung Medical Station Annual Report - Vietnam 4 Programme Background Established in 1999, the Thanh Tung Medical Station is located in the most remote, isolated hamlet of Gia Canh Village, approximately 110 km North of Ho Chi Minh City. In this village, ethnic minority groups comprise 17% (367 people) of the total population (2,143 people). Most of the community lives a very hard life, lacking even the most basic needs such as education and healthcare. Before the Thanh Tung Medical Station was built, the nearest medical station was Gia Canh Medical Station some 15 km away. Given the difficulty of getting there, the local people seldom traveled the distance and subsequently were unable to access good healthcare. The rates of malnourished children, the incidences of malaria and women suffering from gynaecological problems were very high. To provide a solution CNCF built a new medical station which, when it was first built in 1999, served primarily as a First-Aid Station treating conditions such as malaria, respiratory illnesses and diarrhoea. Gradually, as the community s health improved, the medical station evolved and began providing care to improve child malnourishment, pre- and post-natal care, and overall preventive services. As of 2006, noting that the local people understood the importance of timely and proper treatment and were coming to the medical station as soon as they felt sick, the Foundation started to focus attention on awareness, raising activities that stressed the importance of personal hygiene and healthcare.

5 Thanh Tung Medical Station Annual Report - Vietnam 5 Medical Services The medical services provided by the station include medical examinations to identify serious illnesses which would require immediate referral to a hospital as well as treatment for the local people. Free treatment was introduced to the poor and ethnic minority people and children under the age of 6 are eligible for government medical insurance provided they have official papers. In 2011, the medical station had 5,749 admissions for examinations and treatment whilst a total of 3,105 patients received free treatments. People were treated for the following conditions: Table showing number of patients treated for various diseases and ailments Of the 1,515 patients treated at the station, 344 were children under the age of 15 years and 255 of these were ethnic minority children. In order to improve the quality of the station s service, a doctor from Gia Canh Medical Station was sent to Thanh Tung Medical Station five mornings a week (from Monday to Friday) to work together with the two nurses at Thanh Tung Medical Station. Thanks to the doctor, people with health insurance can come to Thanh Tung Medical Station for examination and treatment and have access to the pharmacy there rather than having to travel to Gia Canh. This has dramatically increased the number of beneficiaries. Preventative Health Services Though preventive medicine services provided at the medical station are available on a nationwide basis and supported by the government, it is thanks to available facilities and staff at the medical station that these services are now available in Thanh Tung Hamlet. The following medical services have been provided for the past several years:

6 Thanh Tung Medical Station Annual Report - Vietnam 6 Vaccination This is an ongoing programme as several inoculations are required per disease. In this mountainous, forest region there are a number of prevalent infectious diseases. Vaccinating children against diseases have been important in reducing previously high rates of infant disability and mortality. Previously, due to poverty and the difficulty in travelling to the nearest medical station, many parents failed to have their children vaccinated. Now one of the main priorities of the medical station is to ensure that all children in the area are vaccinated in accordance with the national vaccination programme. Careful records are maintained for each child and reminders are sent to families, sometimes in person, for those parents who miss followup inoculations. In 2011, a vaccination service was held on the 8 th of every month and also via four campaigns in March, June, November and December. It allowed for the successful vaccination of 344 people from Thanh Tung Village. Among them, 30 (100%) children under 1 year old were vaccinated against 8 diseases including; diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, polio, tuberculosis, measles, hepatitis B and meningitis as well as Sabin; 87 (100%) children over 2 and under 5 years old received a Japanese encephalitis vaccination; 180 (100%) children from 6 to 36 months old took Vitamin A; 30 (100%) pregnant woman had tetanus vaccinations 17 (94%) of women aged 15 to 35 years old were also vaccinated for tetanus. Family Planning Contributing to poverty in the area are large family numbers. Back in 2000, families in Gia Canh Hamlet, had an average of 7 children. The staff at the medical station focused on measures to reduce the birth-rate by providing couples with free birth control and holding family planning sessions. In 2011, 79% of couples treated were provided with these services. As a result, the average number of children per family decreased. Mosquito fighting (against malaria and dengue fever) Gia Canh Village (Dinh Quan Town) is located in a mountainous area and mosquitoes are always prevalent. The medical station is supporting the Service of Epidemic Prevention, part of a nationwide programme against malaria, which is focusing on the reduction of the mosquito population. Once a year, the nurses of the medical station work with staff of the Service of Epidemic Prevention to assess the problem of mosquitoes in the hamlet. Together they will decide which areas require spraying. The households in those areas are then provided with mosquito nets soaked in special anti-mosquito

7 Thanh Tung Medical Station Annual Report - Vietnam 7 chemicals and the areas around their houses are sprayed with anti-mosquito chemicals. Residents are also asked to dispose of any container holding dirty water as these are ideal breeding grounds for mosquitoes. In 2011, 439 households (2,091 persons) out of 456 households (2,161 persons) in the area were provided with this service. As a result, there have been no deaths from malaria since Raising Awareness Activities Highlights Since 2006, awareness raising activities have taken on more importance. However it was not until 2008, when previous medical issues were finally brought under control, that these activities became the main focus of the medical station, allowing more financial as well as human resources to be provided. These activities are appreciated by the local partners and teachers. In 2010, CNCF had a meeting with the principals of 2 schools where it was agreed that educational talks be held that included topics not only limited to healthcare issues but also students social/psychological issues. In 2011 CNCF had great success in introducing these awareness-raising activities to the local partners who recognised their importance in improving the health conditions of the local people by preventing many of the diseases. The local partners were also impressed with the workshop facilitation and educational methods and were keen to adopt similar techniques themselves for future activities. CNCF also conducted meetings with teachers from Kim Dong and Le Thanh Tong Schools as well as the station s medical staff to discuss training and teaching methods in At Thanh Tung Village 1 st Talk 2 nd Talk 3 rd Talk 4 th Talk Topic Hand Foot and Mouth Disease Malaria Gender imbalance Prevention of malnutrition Time September 2011 March and October 2011 July 2011 Once every quarter Attendees Women with children under 6 years old All families in Thanh Tung Village Women of childbearing age Women with children under 5 years old Speaker Doctor, nurse and communities medical staffs of Thanh Tung Medical Station. Although they knew the people in the village well and had good medical knowledge, they were weak in their education and training methods. This was highlighted as an area for future capacity building.

8 Thanh Tung Medical Station Annual Report - Vietnam 8 At schools 1 st talk 2 nd talk 3 rd talk 4 th talk Topic Self-confidence and self-reliance School violence Spinal deformity issues Reproductive health Venue Kim Dong Primary School Le Thanh Tong Secondary School Kim Dong Primary School Le Thanh Tong Secondary School Time April 27, 2011 April 27, 2011 December 16 th, 2011 December 16 th, 2011 Attendees 75 students from grade 4 of Kim Dong Primary School 98 students from grade 7 and 8 of Le Thanh Tong Secondary School 85 students from grade 4 of Kim Dong Primary School 300 students from grade 8 of Le Thanh Tong Secondary School Speaker Speakers from YMCA Company, a life values and skills training supplier in Ho Chi Minh City, made their talks more interesting with stories, visual aids such as pictures, video clips. They also created chances for children to contribute to the lessons through group discussion activities and exercises. Doctor Dang Van Tai from Health Care Training Centre of Ho Chi Minh City. He was a talented speaker with a voice that made audiences pay attention to what he was saying. The words he used were well suited to the children and full of pictures that helped children understand the lessons well.

9 Thanh Tung Medical Station Annual Report - Vietnam In Photos Baby receiving medical assistance Blood tests for Malaria Patients receiving medicine