Meeting the need for palliative care in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
IAHPC Board member, Dr. Dang Huy Quoc Thinh, is our guest writer this month.
Throughout the year, IAHPC board members contribute a range of opinion pieces and other thought-provoking articles to the IAHPC Newsletter. Dr.Thinh is Vice-Director of Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) Oncology Hospital in Vietnam and also Head of the Palliative Program and the Department of Radiation Oncology at the hospital.
The Palliative Care Department of Ho Chi Minh City Oncology Hospital (HCMCOH) was set up in January 2011 in order to integrate its role into cancer care. In the past five years, we have served more than 500 inpatients, 3,000 outpatients who were admitted from other wards and other hospitals, and we have made about 200 home care visits. On top of this, we have a major role in providing education and training for hundreds of doctors and nurses in Southern Vietnam.
And just one year ago we reached a special milestone...
Dr. Thinh (right) receives the ESMO award from Dr. Florian Strasser (Chair, ESMO Palliative and Supportive Care Working Group).
In September 2015, at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress in Vienna, our palliative care unit was accredited as an ESMO Designated Centre of Integrated Oncology and Palliative Care.
Palliative home care
Launched in September 2011, the Palliative Home Care Initiative of the HCMCOH was off to a vigorous start. The program has been very well received by the public and by providers alike, with the number of visits rapidly increasing. This high degree of early success suggests that the program addresses a previously unfilled void in care. Although the providers agree that this success is gratifying, with a high rate of satisfaction among patients and families, there is very real concern that the demand for these services is likely to exceed the Palliative Care Department’s ability to supply them. For instance, demand for visits already threatens to outstrip capacity, putting additional pressure on a staff team that is already stretched thinly. Although we took rapid action by recruiting more doctors and nurses for the Department, we still could not meet the demand for home care visits. In order to have a sustainable service, we have now trained district hospitals’ doctors and nurses so that they can provide home care visits to patients living within their district. One such example is the hospital of Go Vap district. This is enabling us to plan for the future by developing a home care services network for patients with palliative care needs, and other life-threatening illness needs, that can be optimally designed to complement and enhance the existing healthcare system in Vietnam.
Education and training
Another aspect of our work is education in palliative care. We have trained hundreds of doctors and nurses via our two-week modules held twice a year, and completed three fellowship training courses in palliative medicine which were supported by the International Palliative Care Program of Harvard Medical School. We are also working with the Ho Chi Minh City Medicine and Pharmacy University and Pham Ngoc Thach University of Medicine to develop a Faculty of Palliative Medicine to train medical students, fellows and residents in the next few years.
With these strategies firmly in place, we hope to develop sustainable palliative care services in Vietnam.
Help us to help others: IAHPC's annual fundraiser!
How your gift supports the IAHPC mission
Achieved: $24,941
Goal: $30,000
83%
Education
Your gift funds the operational costs of our online courses taught by globally recognized experts who volunteer their time and provide educational resources relevant to palliative care topics. It also supports scholarships that enable palliative care workers to attend educational events and congresses, and allows us to maintain Pallipedia, the free, live, online dictionary.
The goal of this pillar is to implement strategies, resources and tools that will improve the competencies of the global workforce for appropriate palliative care delivery. We have two programs under this pillar plus many other resources for our members.
Your gift enables us to build and strengthen the partnerships that accelerate global, regional, and national advocacy for palliative care. We advocate for its integration into primary health care under universal health coverage and effective access to essential palliative care medicines and packages for people of all ages. Your gift supports our work to prepare delegates and participate in technical consultation meetings of the relevant UN organizations.
The goal this pillar is the integration of palliative care into primary health care within the spectrum of universal coverage to improve access to adequate care for patients in need. We offer the following to our members:
Documents on Human Rights and Access to Medicines and Care
Research
Your gift enables us to continue doing research that provides guidance and recommendations for action, based on responses from the global palliative care community. Such research includes our recent evaluation of the impact of euthanasia and assisted dying practices on palliative care workers and the use of essential medicines for palliative care. It also supports the costs of publications focused on research relevant to palliative care.
The goal of this pillar is to design and implement projects that lead to the integration of palliative care into health policies, resolutions, and key documents. Our studies help us provide guidance and recommendations, and take action based on the responses from the global palliative care community.
Your membership enables you to participate in IAHPC projects such as the:
Your gift enables us to continue our in-depth reporting and book reviews in Pallinews, as well as media campaigns that raise awareness about the need to increase access to care and support for patients and families.
We are a small organization that allocates over 80% of our budget to mission driven programs and to the maintenance of our free website. We need operational funding to continue the work.
Give a gift, get a gift
IAHPC members: When you gift a 2-year membership to a colleague in a low- or middle-income country, we extend your membership by 6 months.
Dr. Thinh (right) receives the ESMO award from Dr. Florian Strasser (Chair, ESMO Palliative and Supportive Care Working Group).