Pham Thanh Hai examines a pregnant woman in the hospital.— Photo tienphong.vn

Pham Diem Kieu, a midwife of Obstetrics Department, HCM City–based Tu Du Hospital has worked on the eve of Tet eight times.

Kieu, who has worked for the hospital for 30 years, said the Lunar New Year’s Eve shift always brought unforgettable emotions.

“It changes from the emotion of a little bit of sadness because of not being with my nearest and dearest for Lunar New Year’s Eve to the boundless happiness of welcoming babies born when the Lunar New Year’s fireworks burst into the sky,” she said.

Kieu said her family had not all been together for Lunar New Year’s Eve for the past 30 years. Her police officer works the Lunar New Year’s Eve when she's off, while Kieu works when he has the night off so someone is always home with their children.

This made her a little bit sad, she said, but seeing a baby come into the world dispelled all sadness, she added.

Kieu said she could not remember how many babies she had delivered over the past 30 years, Tiền Phong (Vanguard) online newspaper reported.

“It might be a large number,” she added.

There are many doctors and nurses who work hard to take care of others on each Lunar New Year’s Eve.

Nguyen Mai Hang, another midwife, said the most memorable memory was delivering a baby for a pregnant woman who almost gave birth on the back of her husband's motorbike on the way to the hospital.

“When I asked her why she came to the hospital late, the pregnant woman said she didn't want to give birth before Lunar New Year’s Eve, so she tried to wait until the eve passed but she failed. She felt too painful and the baby very nearly came out. She had to go to the hospital,” she said.

Hang also shared that she burst into tears the first time she had to work on Lunar New Year’s Eve. The three-day shift lasted from the last day of the old year to the second day of the new year in the lunar calendar.

“I cried because I miss my family so much that time,” she said.

Pham Thanh Hai, a doctor of the hospital’s Obstetrics Department, said he began working at the hospital in 2004. That was also the first year he was assigned to work on Lunar New Year’s Eve.

“That was the first time I worked the Lunar New Year’s Eve shift, I was very eager,” he recalled.

Hai said he was very happy when he saw healthy mothers delivered healthy babies during his shift.

“The cry of new-born babies and the sound of fireworks made the Lunar New Year’s Eve more meaningful,” he said.

Ready to serve patients during Tet

Nearly 3,000 doctors, nurses and medical staff in hospitals in Hanoi will work during Tet following the direction of the Ministry of Health.

Luong Ngoc Khue, director general of the ministry’s Medical Examination and Treatment Department, said the ministry had directed hospitals, especially central-level hospitals, to assign doctors and nurses to work 24 hours to promptly deal with emergencies during Tet.

Le Ngoc Thanh, director of E Hospital in Cau Giay District, said the hospital had arranged teams of doctors to deal with patients with diabetes, high blood pressure and heart-related diseases, who might suffer complications because they forget to take their pills during Tet.

Tran Binh Giang, head of the Việt Nam – Germany Friendship Hospital, said the hospital received many victims of tragic accidents during Tet every year, therefore, the hospital’s emergency system and operation rooms were ready 24 hours a day.

There would be a team of doctors on duty at all times to consult doctors of hospitals at province and district levels for difficult surgeries, he said.

Doctors and nurses of the National Hospital of Paediatrics are also ready to serve children during Tet. The hospital will operate examination services to serve the demand of patients, said Tran Minh Dien, deputy director of the hospital.

Director of the city’s Health Department Nguyen Khac Hien said the department would randomly check emergency teams on duty during Tet at local hospitals.

If people find a doctor or a nurse who is on duty but is not working or is causing trouble for patients, people could contact the health department hotline: 02439985765. Based on the complaints, the doctor or nurse could receive discipline, he said. — VNS

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