Deputy PM Vu Duc Dam (far left) encourages family members of patients undergoing treatment at Ho Chi Minh City Children's Hospital No. 1 on October 11. (Photo: VGP)

 NDO – Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam visited doctors and child patients undergoing treatment at Ho Chi Minh City Children's Hospital No. 1 on October 11, while holding a working session with the Nhan Dan (People) 115 Hospital the same day.

Reporting to the deputy PM, Head of the municipal Health Department Nguyen Tan Binh said that in the first nine months of the year, there were over 25,000 cases of hand-foot-mouth disease treatment at local hospitals. In addition, the city also recorded 132 cases of measles.

The department has directed the children's hospitals in the city to coordinate and prepare plans for timely anti-epidemic activities, Binh said.

During his visit to several departments at the Children's Hospital No. 1, Deputy PM Dam praised efforts by medical staff in fighting the diseases.

He said that the prevention of hand-foot-mouth disease is necessary, on par with the measles prevention as the latter is likely to outbreak.

Also on Thursday afternoon, Deputy PM Dam visited and worked with the staff at the Nhan Dan 115 Hospital.

Dam praised the efforts to overcome difficulties and facilitate innovation in improving the quality of medical examination and treatment, as well as financial autonomy by the hospital.

     The government senior official also emphasised that, not only the Nhan Dan 115 Hospital, other major medical facilities also need to develop their own mechanisms to promote the renovation to serve both       domestic patients and foreigners in medical treatment.