Hanoi (VNA) - At thecorner of Bach Mai Hospital’s lobby inHanoi, relatives of patients shiver with every gust of wind, even under theirthick blankets. The recent chill is making their time as hospital visitors evenmore difficult.

The strong cold snap hitting Hanoiand northern provinces overthe past few days pulled the temperatures down to around ten degrees Celsius. Mountainousareas have witnessed frost.

As a result, the number ofpatients, especially the elderly and children, admitted to hospitals for winterdiseases has surged. Many hospitals have experienced overcrowding.

Old patients mostly contractheart, bone-related and respiratory diseases. The number of old patientssuffering from stroke has increased by 15 percent since the cold snap began, Sai Gon Giai Phong (Liberated Sai Gon)newspaper reported. 

Associate Professor Tran Minh Dien,deputy director of the National Paediatrics Hospital, told the newspaper that over the past fewdays, nearly 4,000 children have been sent to his hospital everyday, most ofthem infected with respiratory system illnesses and diarrhea caused by virus. ThePaediatrics Department of Bach Mai Hospital and Saint Paul Hospital admittedsignificantly more children (10 to 20 percent) than normal. Some children wererushed to the hospital with serious pneumonia.

Waiting for his health check upat the National Geriatric Hospital, a patientnamed Tuan, 67, told Sai Gon Giai Phong, “Iam infected with chronic bronchitis. Whenever the weather changes, especiallywhen it is rainy and cold, I feel tightness in the chest, find it difficult tobreathe and cough all day long. I am deprived of sleep”

“I have been here for nearly twohours waiting for my health examination,” he said.

Professor Ngo Quy Chau, deputydirector of Bach Mai Hospital anddirector of the hospital’s Respiratory Centre, told LaoDong (Labour) newspaper that respiratory illnesses are a leadingcause of other illnesses and even death. Cold weather can also make chronicdiseases such as asthma, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) flare up.

Cold weather not only overcrowdscentral-level hospitals but also crowds local hospitals in northern mountainousprovinces including Lao Cai, Yen Bai, Cao Bang and Lang Son.

Hospitals have made preparationto accommodate patients and their relatives.

Hospital K,Hospital for Tropical Diseases and Vietnam-Germany Hospital have prepared heatersand air-conditioners at the medical checkup areas, treatment rooms andoperation spaces. More blankets are being supplied for patients.

TheEmergency and Medical Checkup departments of hospitals provide meals at thepatients’ rooms for heavily infected patients, those with disadvantagedconditions and those who do not have relatives.

The Bach Mai Hospital has mobilised 30 heatersfor areas serving out-patients.

Tran Thi Nhi Ha, deputy directorof Hanoi’s Health Department, said that the department has required hospitalsto mobilise heating equipment and blankets for in-patients, ensure warmth forpatients in waiting areas and pay attention to the elderly, newborns andchildren.

Medical treatment facilities mustensure medicine, beds and emergency equipment to respond to serious conditionscaused by abnormal weather conditions such as high blood pressure, stroke,influenza, acute respiratory diseases.

The Paediatrics Departmentof Lao Cai Obstetrics and Pediatrics Hospital hasbrought in an additional 40 beds, increasing the number of beds to 100.

Doctors of National Hospital forTropical Diseases said that cold weather poses risks to patients with highblood pressure and to old patients. The risks of stroke may be reduced bykeeping patients warm in a windproof room.

Parents should keep theirchildren warm and provide them with nutritious meals to increase theirresistance to disease. Children face a high risk of flu, diarrhea, measles,whooping cough and chicken pox during winter and spring. Parents are advised toensure their children receive vaccines.-VNA