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AIDS Department (Dong Nai
Hospital of Dermatology and Venerology), where AIDS patients across the province
get treatments, was established in 2006 with an earlier scale of 10 sickbeds. So
far, its total number of beds has risen to 30. Annually, the department receives
and has hundreds of HIV/AIDS patients treated, particularly the majority of
patients transferred to the department are usually in stage 3, stage 4 with one
or more opportunistic infections such as diarrhea, tuberculosis, fungus, etc.
that have more spreading possibility than HIV, besides they are the leading
reason causing depletion and mortality for patients.
With current scientific,
technical advancements, opportunistic infections can be completely cured and
prevented; so the survival chance of patients living with HIV/AIDS is being much
improved, Doctor Ly said. More than anyone else, the HIV/AIDS sufferers need to
know that fact, because most of the century disease sufferers are very confusing
and less confident in life that has great effect on results of treatment.
As known, the global AIDS
programs of the U.S Center for Disease Control (CDC), through LIFE - GAP Project
carried out in Dong Nai since 2001 with the main objectives as follows:
consulting and testing HIV; having individuals at risk accessed to community;
providing HIV/AIDS healthcare and treatment; preventing mother-to-child
transmission, monitoring HIV and sexual way of transmission; strengthening
capacity of the HIV/AIDS monitoring and managing systems.
The project also includes 16
members of the peer education team working at the places that drug users
frequented. This acts as the bridge for drug addicts to give up habit of sharing
needles, or lead them to the Center for Preventive Health for tests. The peer
education team’s activeness has helped specialized agencies to get access and
give advice to the addicts on this century disease. For those who have positive
results, the center has guided them to live a useful life and be responsible for
preventing HIV transmission from the community.
Because unequal awareness of
HIV/AIDS among people in society, there are still certain phenomena such as
fear, unfriendliness, discrimination with HIV/AIDS sufferers. In the hospital,
many patients in other departments (even some health workers) are very afraid of
having contact with the patients treated at HIV/AIDS department. Therefore, all
of the AIDS patients just want hospital in the acute phase, and then they want
to be treated at home. Therefore, the community plays a very important role in
successful treatments for HIV/AIDS patients.
In addition, antiviral drugs used
to treat HIV (ARV) are a hopeful cure for AIDS patients. Although not all patients
could afford this drug, patients can get access to ARV through different sources
such as the Provincial Center for HIV/AIDS Prevention and Treatment; centers
using ARV therapy in Ho Chi Minh City, etc., all the factors related to the
progress in treating AIDS have to be known by patients, because those help them
feel much secure about the treatment given, have proper diet and medicines,
which increases efficiency of treatment.
It is known that majority of the
patients treated with free charge at the AIDS Department, Hospital of
Dermatology and Venerology have no relatives, so understanding the need to give
first priority to responsibility, the doctors at the department take care of the
patients with full devotion, work hard to help patients feel more secure. Those
who witnessed the hands gently cleaning patients covered with all kinds of
ulcers, giving each spoon of noodle, can comprehend the love that the doctors
give to their career and fellow-creature; without such sympathy and
kindheartedness, it is hard for them to keep their good deed for years.
In addition to dedicated care
conformable to the spirit of responsibility and human love, each of the nurses
and doctors has experienced the lesson on combination therapy with consulting
and encouraging patients to overcome all difficulties for better treatment in
order to prolong their life and improve life quality.
L.H (HA Giang)