VietNamNet Bridge - Nearly a dozen of incidents occurring in the health sector in the past month shook the public opinion. After three infants died after vaccinations, thousands of patients discovered to be cheated with false test results in Hanoi’s Hoai Duc Hospital.

The test ward of Hoai Duc District Hospital.

"Cloning" blood test results in Hoai Duc Hospital is the scandal that happened in the longest period of time, but until recently it wasn’t detected. The case has caused public confusion about medical ethics the most.

During 10 months (7/2012-5/2013), Hoai Duc district hospital gave the patients false blood test results, by copying test results of a patient to give it to many others. Health workers also took blood samples from patients but they threw away and used the available results. There were about 1,000 test results "cloned" to give to at least 2,000 patients. On average, a test result was used for 2-5 people. Many patients of different ages, with different diseases got the same test results.

The hospital director was suspended on August 8. Earlier the head of the testing ward was also suspended to serve the investigation. Hanoi police have prosecuted the case of taking abuse of positions and powers while on duty in Hoai Duc Hospital.

Only two weeks ago, the death of three infants at the same time after vaccination with hepatitis B vaccine in Huong Hoa district hospital (Quang Tri province) made people confused about the quality of the immunization process.

On the morning of July 20, just 10 minutes after the injection was completed, the babies started breathing difficultly, suffered from cyanosis and gradually lost consciousness. The hepatitis B vaccine for these infants was provided by the national vaccination program, which was produced in 2012 with expire date in 2015.

The Ministry of Health identified that Huong Hoa District Hospital made a number of errors in the implementation of vaccination, such as placing vaccines with other biologicals and drugs, not making record of vaccine use on a daily basis, not keeping the vaccine vials after use, and not providing vaccinations at the clinic... But so far the death of the three infants has not been defined. The Ministry of Health temporarily concluded that the babies were dead by "anaphylaxis of unknown cause."

The later surveys by the Ministry of Health showed that not only Huong Hoa Hospital but many other hospitals preserved vaccines in wrong process, such as the vaccine storage refrigerators and thermometers were broken down, and the staff were not good at the emergency technique when anaphylaxis occurs…

Medical experts said that the vaccines that Vietnam is using belong to the old generation, so the reaction and complication rates are higher. The incident in Quang Tri reminded many people of the quality of vaccines, especially 5 in 1 Quinvaxem vaccine which was related to the death of a dozen of babies after injection over a year ago. The Ministry of Health instructed to stop using the vaccine until the Prime Minister allowed to use again one week ago.

In less than a month, there were a lot of deaths of patient related to careless mistakes by medical personnel.

On August 4, a mother and her baby died after a preterm birth in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho.

The woman had vaginal bleeding on August 2, at the 29th week of pregnancy, and was brought to the Central Hospital of Can Tho. Diagnosing still birth, doctors placed medication for normal birth to a baby girl weighing 1.7 kg. However the mother got weaker and weaker and died after a few hours. Can Tho City Police performed autopsies to find the cause of the death.

Another woman in Thanh Hoa province also died after an injection on July 16. The 34-year-old woman with signs of labor was brought to the health station of Thach Son commune. She was examined by two nurses and injected with an unclear drug. Approximately 1 hour after the injection, the woman lost consciousness and died.

The Quang Nam General Hospital recently returned a newborn baby who was still alive to the family for burial. When bathing the baby before burial, the family discovered that the baby was still alive. Currently, the baby is under special care at the Children's Hospital of Quang Nam Province.

On July 14, a nurse of the Hanoi Obstetrics Hospital--while pushing a stroller carrying five babies to the bathroom slipped, making the babies fall to the ground

After this incident, the Hanoi Obstetrics Hospital has replaced these small strollers by bigger ones, operated by two nurses to avoid such incidents.

In Can Tho, a nurse took the wrong aerosol solution (Ventolin), which is used orally to inject a 7-month-old baby at Phuong Chau Hospital on July 31. Thankfully, the incident was quickly detected.

P. Lan