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The treatment for HIV-infected patients in Binh Dinh is still inadequate. Some healthcare staff don’t want to work with such patients; meanwhile, the number of patients cured by the anti-retroviral (ARV) drug is still rare.
* Lack of medical personnel
This is the biggest obstacle in the HIV treatment in Vietnam, according to WHO. One of the reasons resulting in the problem is that some medical personnel don’t want to work with people with HIV.
Currently, a staff including seven people are responsible for taking care of HIV patients at Binh Dinh Pulmonary diseases and Tuberculosis hospital. However, because most HIV patients are not looked after by their relatives frequently or when they die, there is no relative, healthcare workers must act as patients’ relatives and this causes the high risk of infection, according to doctor Chau Van Tuan, director of Binh Dinh Pulmonary diseases and Tuberculosis hospital.
In 2004, the ambulatory care facilities under the LIFE-GAP project partly met HIV/AIDS-infected patients’ demands in treating, but after the project finished in March, the number of medical personnel has been no longer stable.
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Benefactors visit HIV patients at the center 05-06. Photo Pham Van Chai |
* Drug is waiting for patients
Until now, not many patients in Binh Dinh were treated with the ARV drug. In 2005, the Ministry of Health provided Binh Dinh with ARV drugs which were then allocated to Binh Dinh GeneralHospital, Quy Nhon city MedicalCenter, Binh Dinh Pulmonary diseases and Tuberculosis hospital, and Bong Son GeneralHospital. But apart from Binh Dinh GeneralHospital using all the number of distributed drugs, other three hospitals and Center haven’t used any ARV drug. Although more five medical centers were allocated with ARV drugs in 2006, there have been only 12 HIV patients treated with ARV drugs since 2005. The figure is much lower than the number of 17 patients treated with ARV drugs proposed.
ARV drugs are now used for the HIV treatment in Binh Dinh GeneralHospital, Binh Dinh Pulmonary diseases and Tuberculosis hospital and General Hospitals in Bong Son, Hoai Nhon, and Quy Nhon. “The mechanism for the organisation, and personnel management and the treatment for HIV patients are not clear; meanwhile, regulations for the ARV treatment are very stringent. To be treated with ARV drugs, patients must meet 95% of regulations. A specialized board will be set up in the coming time to select patients who have enough standards for the ARV treatment,” said doctor Vo Khac Thanh, director of Binh Dinh HIV/AIDS Prevention and ControlCenter.
In Binh Dinh, ARV drugs haven’t been used for many years and these drugs won’t be distributed to Binh Dinh in the future; besides, the Ministry of Health promulgated the document to take back 9,970 Zidovudine 300mg pills in some provinces and cities, including Binh Dinh.
* Be active in the treatment
To create the best favourable conditions for HIV patients, healthcare centers and hospitals were functionally re-arranged. In the coming time, Binh Dinh Health Department will hold a meeting with Binh Dinh HIV/AIDS Prevention and ControlCenter and Binh Dinh GeneralHospital to discuss measures to assist all expenditure for the test and paraclinical diagnosis.
Alongside this, “the ARV drugs can’t eradicate the disease but it can delay the development of the HIV virus for 10-15 years, so HIV-infected patients should actively come to healthcare centers and hospital for the treatment,” said doctor Thanh.
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