Doctors at the city’s Traditional Medicine Institute in Phu Nhuan district on January 22 started providing free health exams, ultrasounds and electrocardiograms to poor patients.
Many of the patients said they seldom visited hospitals for exams, even though some of them suffer from various kinds of ailments.
Photo for illustration: suckhoedoisong.vn
Nguyen Minh Tri, 56, of the district, said: “I haven’t been able to hold anything in my left hand over the last several months. However, I haven’t gone to a hospital.”
Dr. Nguyen Tuan Anh, deputy head of the institute’s Oncology Ward, examined Tri, who smokes two packs of cigarettes a day.
Anh said that Tri could be at risk of atherosclerosis in which plaque builds up inside arteries, hardening and narrowing the arteries and limiting the flow of oxygen-rich blood.
As atherosclerosis can cause serious complications such as a stroke or heart attack, Anh scheduled an electrocardiogram for Tri.
Another patient, Nguyen Hong Tham, 60, who also lives in the district, has had allergic rhinitis for many years.
“However, I haven’t had time for examination and treatment. Several days ago, I was told to go to the institute for a free exam. The institute’s doctor advised me to get thread embedding, which is a kind of acupuncture therapy, to treat allergic rhinitis,” Tham said.
The threads, which eventually dissolve, are embedded into acupuncture points to stimulate them for 10-14 days.
“The free examination program shows care for the poor and for seniors before Lunar New Year. It’s very useful for us,” Tham said.
After the exams, the patients were provided gifts worth VND 1 million (USD 44) each. The institute also presented gifts to 30 poor inpatients.
From January 27-30, inpatients will be provided free three meals every day.
On January 14, doctors and nurses at many city hospitals visited Binh Phuoc province, the Xa Mat border gate in Tay Ninh, and Dong Nai province to care for people with financial difficulties.
Health workers at Nhan Ai, Tu Du and Pediatrics hospitals provided free medicine and health examination to 150 children, poor residents, and those covered by special State policies that live in Phu Van commune in Binh Phuoc province.
The team, including doctors and nurses from Cu Chi and Thu Duc general hospitals and Oncology Hospital, visited Tan Lap district in Tay Ninh province offered free exams and medicine for 500 poor people there.
They also presented gifts to soldiers stationed at border gates.
Source: VNA