On 8 July 2022, Hoan My Thu Duc International General Hospital held a seminar on “Out-of-Hospital Emergencies – Trauma Emergencies,” with useful insights shared about emergency medical services that have helped to increase patient survival rates while lowering the incidence of injury and sequelae for emergency patients.

Outlining the purpose of the conference, Ph.D., M.D Nguyen Tuan, Director of Hoan My Thu Duc International General Hospital said: “The organisation and operation of effective emergency services demands not only a high level of expertise and adequate equipment and facilities, but also hinges on stakeholder engagement issues including coordination processes and regulations. The exchange of information, lessons, and in-depth research is essential. For these reasons, Hoan My Thu Duc Hospital is honoured to host the seminar ‘Out-of-Hospital Emergencies – Trauma Emergencies’.”

According to Ph.D., M.D Nguyen Tuan, in addition to establishing the Emergency Resuscitation Department with all of the requisite specialist staff, materials, and strict organisational procedures, Hoan My Thu Duc has voluntarily been registered in the network of outpatient hospital emergency services in Ho Chi Minh City, becoming the city’s 37th 115th Emergency Satellite Station.

The seminar on “Out-of-Hospital Emergencies – Trauma Emergencies” organised by Hoan My Thu Duc marks a significant academic milestone, allowing the exchange of the most up-to-date, practical, high-quality medical knowledge, which is applicable to hospital practices and improving clinical quality. This was an opportunity for leading experts to attend, explain the latest findings, and exchange valuable experiences in the field of Outpatient Emergency and Trauma Emergencies.

The seminar brought together five major topics in one series of discussions, led by experts in Out-of-Hospital Emergencies and Trauma Emergencies.

Reporting at the seminar, First Degree specialist Nguyen Duy Long, Director of Emergency Centre 115 in Ho Chi Minh City, shared practical lessons about organising the centre, and about the model for the first provincial/city emergency centre in the nation, implementing the coordination of emergency activities outside the hospital, first aid in the community, and emergency transportation to the nearest appropriate medical facilities. The Model 115 Emergency Centre network, which comprises 115 satellite emergency stations across Ho Chi Minh City, is one of a number of out-of-hospital emergency models in Vietnam.

On the topic “Stroke: Notes for Early Recognition and Proper Treatment”, Ph.D., M.DHoang Thi To Uyen, Neurology specialist, Hoan My Thu Duc Hospital, provided an overview of the stroke, including its definition, symptoms, classification, and treatment.

According to Ph.D. M.D Hoang Thi To Uyen, a stroke is the third-leading cause of mortality, accounting for 750,000 new patient cases annually, 90% of which have sequelae, and most of which result in fatalities within the first 30 days.

In her report, Ph.D., M.D Hoang Thi To Uyen outlined how to differentiate strokes. She advises “assuming the need for stroke treatment” in a situation where a stroke cannot be ruled out, because the symptoms of a stroke are varied and easily mistaken with those of other conditions.

In addition, Ph.D. M.D Hoang Thi To Uyen repeatedly emphasised the significance of proper stroke management because “every minute of delayed treatment is 1.9 million brain cells lost,” and spoke of “patients that should have been saved but passed away or became disabled because they were admitted to the wrong hospital.”

In the field of Trauma Emergency, the First Degree specialist Dang Van Dat, Manager of the General Surgery Department of Hoan My Thu Duc Hospital, spoke about traffic accidents and common daily occupational accidents, under the topic “Effective Seven-Step First Aid for Patients Injured in Accidents”.

The First Degree specialist Dang Van Dat explained that there have been numerous instances where the victim had suffered a mild injury to the cervical vertebrae or pelvis, but people aiming to assist at the scene of the accident had picked up the victim to take them to the Emergency Room, resulting in the breaking of the victim’s pelvis or of the victim’s neck, and consequent complete paralysis or even death.

Through the report, First Degree specialist Dang Van Dat gave detailed instructions on how to treat victims of accidents. In addition, Dr. Dat provided visual representations of improper first aid methods that could be harmful. The aim was to encourage those witnessing and assisting at traffic accidents to give first aid properly in order to limit further injury to the victim.

Other conference themes such as “Global Pre-Hospital Cardiovascular Emergency Models: Which is the Right Model for Vietnam?” presented by Ph.D, M.D Do Quoc Huy, Deputy Director of People’s Hospital 115, and the topic “Lessons from Experiences in Operating the Emergency Department with the Outpatient Emergency Team at Hoan My Thu Duc Hospital,” presented by the Second Degree specialist La Thi Thanh Ngan, Manager of the Emergency Resuscitation Department at Hoan My Thu Duc Hospital, attracted a high volume of attention.

After more than four hours of exchanging insights and animated discussion, the Seminar “Out-of-Hospital Emergencies – Trauma Emergencies” was successfully concluded, with a wealth of takeaways and experiences gained for solving a range of practical problems. The seminar provided wide-ranging practical benefits with regard to the provision of emergency medical services, further safeguarding the population’s health.