Saigon clinics launch home care services for Covid-19 patients
Since the beginning of the 4th Covid-19 outbreak, Saigon has been seeing thousands of cases on a daily basis. This constant hike in locally acquired infections has added tremendous pressure on the local healthcare system. Many quarantine facilities and hospitals have reported a severe shortage of beds.
For this reason, the Ministry of Health has given infected Saigon residents with mild symptoms the nod to quarantine at home. Nonetheless, Covid-19 is not a seasonal fever and not every household member knows how to care for the infected ones.
With this in mind, several clinics in Saigon have rolled out home care services for Covid-19 patients.
Here’s what to expect from these services.
You’re looking at a service that costs over ~USD109.47 a day
Image credit: Zing News
Amid the unfolding Covid-19 crisis that sees an increase in deaths at home, numerous clinics and private hospitals have rolled out outpatient care services for those in need.
However, these services are certainly not something that the needy can afford.
B.C. is among the private medical institutions that offer home care services for Covid-19 patients. According to Lao Động, a 14-day package here costs VND25,770,000 (~USD1,128.46) per person.
Dexamethasone is prescribed for Covid-19 patients
Image credit: Zing News
In return, the paying patient will have clinical staff members come over to their home to conduct Covid-19 tests 4 times, disinfect their home, and deliver medicine. The patient will also receive consultations from a doctor on the phone every 2 days.
Those who opt for the VND35,770,000 (~USD1,566,35) package will get daily consultations from doctors and nurses. Clinical staff will also contact the patient every day to enquire about their health conditions, offer advice on diets as well as mental wellbeing.
Victoria HealthCare Vietnam, a renowned clinic in Saigon, is also offering online doctor care services for infected patients who quarantine at home.
As convenient yet costly as these services are, please take note that serious cases will still need to be hospitalized. Clinics cannot guarantee you ambulance rides and slots at hospitals.
Serious cases still need to be hospitalized
Image credit: Công Đoàn Y Tế Việt Nam
When an infected patient shows alarming signs such as shortness of breath and an oxygen saturation level falling below 95%, family members should call 115 immediately for timely hospitalization.
Image credit: Người Lao Động
Only hospitals have medical equipment available for the treatment of severe cases. Besides, in-person medical consultation is vital when a patient’s condition turns critical.
On top of that, please remember that getting hospitalized these days has increasingly depended on luck. Unless the 115 SOS system operators can help you find a hospital bed, which is a very daunting task, you can’t be hospitalized.
Most patients have to wait for hours before the 115 operators can find them a slot.
Therefore, think about it carefully before employing these costly home care services.
If you’re down with Covid-19 and don’t mind loosening your purse strings to make sure that your recovery is on the right track, you might consider using a home care service.
In-person care and treatment are indispensable
Over the past few months, we’ve heard stories about infected people with zero or mild symptoms who recover within a short time. Meanwhile, we’ve also seen patients whose conditions worsened over a short period of time even when their initial symptoms were mild.
This goes to show that a mild case can turn serious, and hospital intervention is indispensable.
Home care can give you peace of mind, but it can’t promise an ultimate result or replace in-person treatment. At the end of the day, you’ll still need the intervention of hospital doctors to know for sure that you’re infection-free.
Also check out:
- Saigon taxis turned into Covid-19 ambulances amid scarcity of resources
- Inside Saigon’s last line of defense against Covid-19
- Saigon extends mobility restrictions as Covid-19 cases hit record high
- Saigon’s haunted building turned into COVID-19 quarantine facility
- 8 online grocery shopping services in Saigon that you can benefit from
Cover image adapted from: Zing News. Image is for illustration purposes only.
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