Due to prolonged bidding difficulties, Can Tho Hospital of Hematology - Blood Transfusion no longer has blood collection bags to prepare and supply to 74 hospitals in the West.
Anemia and blood products have lasted for more than a year, but the most serious has been since March, affecting the emergency and treatment of patients.
At Can Tho Central General Hospital, an average of 5.000-6.000 blood units is needed each month, of which platelets range from 2.000 to 3.000 units. However, this unit can only supply about 25% of the demand, with priority given to cases requiring emergency blood transfusion, according to Dr. Le Hoang Phuc, Head of the Planning and General Department. According to Mr. Phuc, some elective surgeries had to be stopped to wait for new blood products to be performed.
Faced with this situation, the hospital actively signed a contract with Cho Ray (HCMC) to support blood supply. However, platelets cannot be accepted due to their very short storage life (about 3 days).
"Some cases of thrombocytopenia if not given additional transfusions, the risk of serious bleeding complications, especially life-threatening brain haemorrhage," said Dr. Phuc, adding that in an emergency It is also not possible to transfer the patient to Ho Chi Minh City because the patient will die on the way.
An operation at Can Tho Central General Hospital, early June. Photo: Thanh phong
Also facing a shortage of blood products, Mr. Bui Quoc Nam, Director of Bac Lieu Department of Health, said that on average, hospitals in the province need 800 units of blood per month. The main supply is from the Hospital of Hematology and Blood Transfusion in Can Tho City, but there is a huge shortage. "Facing this serious situation, we have reported to the Ministry of Health for early handling measures," Mr. Nam said.
Similarly, Dr. Thach Ngoc Tien, Head of Laboratory, Tra Vinh Provincial General Hospital, must apologize to patients who are in need of blood transfusion, or have to postpone surgery because there is no blood. The doctor said that the hospital is waiting for every drop of red blood to fight for the patient's life.
Confirming this situation, Doctor Nguyen Xuan Viet, Director of Can Tho Hospital of Hematology and Blood Transfusion, said that on May 25, a document was sent to 5 hospitals and medical facilities in the Mekong Delta, suggest to use blood sparingly, only in emergencies.
Each month, this unit receives and supplies about 12.000-15.000 blood units to hospitals in the West. But due to the difficulty in appraising and approving the contractor selection plan from 2022 to now, the hospital still does not have blood collection bags as well as blood screening chemicals. From June 1, hospitals cannot prepare, test and screen filtering and supplying blood and blood products to hospitals, said Vietnamese doctor.
In addition, from March until now, the unit has no more blood collection bags, so it has to take advantage of the finished blood source from the Ho Chi Minh City Hospital of Hematology and Blood Transfusion, Cho Ray Hospital, and the National Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion to provide blood transfusions. replay to area hospitals. However, currently the supply of these facilities is also limited and cannot be distributed to the Can Tho Hospital of Hematology and Blood Transfusion.
“For these reasons, we informed 74 hospitals and made preparations in advance,” said Viet, adding that he had repeatedly reported this situation to the Department of Health and Can Tho City People's Committee.
The patient is being treated at the Stroke Department, Can Tho Central General Hospital. Image: Kowloon
In this regard, a leader of the Can Tho Department of Health said that the process of organizing the procurement of drugs and medical supplies encountered some changes in Circular 8/2023 (instead of Circular 14/2020). of the Ministry of Health, so "the procedure has to be done over and over again". The Department also has many situational solutions for the hospital to buy small, directly to solve difficulties.
"In view of the current urgent situation, the Department will try to complete the bidding procedures for the Hospital of Hematology - Blood Transfusion to overcome the shortage of blood in the area," the leader said, but did not specify the specific time. at which point this problem will be completely resolved.
Every year, Can Tho Blood Transfusion - Hematology Hospital needs about 150 billion VND to purchase chemicals and new medical supplies to meet the demand for blood collection and supply to regional hospitals. Facing delays due to bidding procedures, the hospital has implemented many procurement packages under VND 100 million according to regulations, but the quantity did not meet the actual demand.
Peaceful
