Via Viet Nam News, yet another reason to hope that the country stamps out H5N1 before it ever learns to cross efficiently to humans: Hospitals overloaded with two to three patients to a bed. Excerpt:
Central hospitals are trying to cope with patient overload because it puts pressure on all involved, including staff, and the low qualification of health staff at the commune and local level has been singled out as the main reason for patients transferring to larger hospitals.
At some hospitals, including the Cancer Hospital, two and even three patients have to share one bed.
Hospital overload has become a pressing issue for patients as well as the health sector, said Director of the Health Examination and Treatment Management Department Ly Ngoc Kinh
According to the Ministry of Health (MoH), Viet Nam now has 1,062 state hospitals and 77 private hospitals with a total 145,000 beds.
However, bed capacity does not meet demand. At many central facilities, such as Bach Mai and Cho Ray, several patients often have to share one bed.
