Vietnam - Hospital directors may be held accountable for hand-foot-mouth fatalities

 >>  Hand-foot-mouth disease alarming in HCM City
 >>  Hand-Foot-Mouth disease on the rise
 >>  Hand, foot, and mouth disease defies public health efforts
 >>  PM requests closer eye on hand-foot-mouth disease

Hospitals and clinics nationwide must increase efforts to minimise the number of fatalities of hand, foot and mouth disease, said Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Kim Tien.

Directors of hospitals and heads of medical clinics must be held accountable for the treatment, and should be made responsible for any new deaths from the disease at their institutions, Tien emphasised.

Tien suggested the new policy in an official document sent on March 13 to chairmen of cities and provinces under the direct management of the Government.

According to her, up to now, cities and provinces across the country have recorded a total of 12,442 hand, foot and mouth patients, including 11 fatalities.

The number of patients is seven times higher than the same period last year, she noted, adding that most of the cases involved in children three and under. The disease is expected to continue to spread, she said.

“Chairmen of cities and provinces nationwide must intensify their prevention efforts, and more attention must be paid to raising parents' awareness of methods of prevention for their young children,” Tien requested.

Dr. Le Thanh Hai, Deputy Director of the Central Paediatrics Hospital, said, “This year hand, foot and mouth disease has been spreading in the northern region earlier than the previous year. Last year, increased rates of infection were seen beginning in May. But this year we are receiving between 10 and 18 patients per day, sometimes even 20.”

Doctor Do Thien Hai, from the same hospital, said the number of patients may be on the rise in the time to come because of conditions which help the disease's spread.

“One of the most effective prevention methods is to regularly wash your hands. Strong adult supervision is what can reduce transmission among children,” he added.

Hong Hai | dtinews.vn

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