The Department of Health said that it has assigned the HCMC Children's Hospital and Children's Hospital 2 to be responsible for receiving pediatric patients with COVID-19, with a scale of about 140 beds, including 30 resuscitation beds.
A representative of Children's Hospital 2 in HCMC said that only one day after receiving the order from the Department of Health, the hospital immediately deployed a COVID-19 treatment area at a corner of its own campus. Medical examination and treatment activities for other pediatric patients are still taking place normally, with separate entrances.
Separate treatment area for children with COVID-19 at Children's Hospital 2 (Photo: baotintuc.vn)
"COVID-19 treatment unit for children" has a scale of 60 beds with 10 resuscitation beds, with full modern facilities and well-ventilated rooms. This treatment area is separate from other areas, with barriers, separate entrances and exits.
Accordingly, the unit has a leader, doctors, nurses and aides, who are sufficient to ensure good service for pediatric patients. They are divided into 3 teams to take turns on tasks. Each team works for a week, then they are tested for COVID-19 and fully isolated according to regulations before going home.
The leader of Children's Hospital 2 said that the hospital also arranges dining, living and daily-activity areas for its employees to ensure health during their working time there. In addition, the hospital also arranges to serve other needs of pediatric patients and their relatives there, but ensures that it is within the area and cannot infect the surrounding areas.
According to the Department of Health of Ho Chi Minh City, pediatric patients in concentrated isolation areas catching the disease are asked to be transfered to district hospitals in the city.
For older children who can be independent, they should be isolated alone. In case the patient needs a family member to accompany (each child can only be taken care of by one relative), the hospital must advise on the risks of infection, guide the disease prevention measures, use of personal protective equipment and risks of exposure to SARS-CoV2. All consultation contents must be approved by the relative and expressed in writing, and the relative must be tested by RT-PCR before entering the child care isolation ward.
In case a pediatric patient and his/her caregiver are both infected with COVID-19, depending on the patient's and relatives' medical condition, the hospital or isolation area will transfer the patient to a hospital suitable for children or the adult. If both children and their relatives are treated at HCMC Children's Hospital or Children's Hospital 2, the hospital must consult with the Hospital for Tropical Diseases about the treatment regimen for the adult with COVID-19./.