The Prime Minister has given his approval to a VND8.2 trillion (USD393 million) project to improve medical services on the islands during period 2013-2020.
A patient injured at sea but treated at a hospital in HCM City According to the Health Ministry, the chance that members of a family living and working on islands to have a disease is at least 70%. 350,000 offshore sailors are forced to sail without proper healthcare equipment and medicines.
Luong Ngoc Khue, head of the Medical Examination and Treatment Department, under the Ministry of Health, said, “Several common illness are metabolic syndromes, such as heart and skin diseases and neurological disorders.”
The risk for people who work on oil rigs to having illness caused by noise, air pollution and other job-related medical issues is very high. Also, the likelihood that a fisherman or sailor has dental problems is 48% higher than a person working on mainland.
In a survey conducted in 2012, 19% fishermen said they did not have access to any medicines. While common medicines for the flu or other minor conditions were more widely available, only 46.7% medical facilities had trained doctors.
Nguyen Hoang Long, Deputy Director of Department of Planning and Finance, under Ministry of Health, confirmed that the situation needed improvement, saying, “Medical facilities on islands and ships don’t meet up to standards, and the collaboration between health professionals is in disarray.”
There are about 126 fishing vessels that work in the aquaculture, but they are not sufficiently monitored by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. Also, no monitoring systems have been set up on the islands.
The reason for more than a third of the lack of healthcare for these workers is lack of the money required for the travel and medical fees associated with treatment. In addition, it has been shown that about one third of medical staff at these facilities are undertrained and lack knowledge about the problems most likely to effect workers in that environment.
Minister of Health, Nguyen Thi Kim Tien, said the project’s goal was to have 80% of medical facilities meet the national standard, establish four more medical centres, six hospitals and four hospital ships.
Medical facilities in remote and rural areas are often very small and less sophisticated than urban clinics. In many instances they are in short supply of qualified medical staff and do not meet up to the regulations of having at least 250 square metres and at least 10 rooms to accommodate patients.
Đăng ký: VietNam News
