By 2030, at least 2 million people will be trained in first aid.

According to the Ministry of Health , the role of outpatient emergency care is very important in the health system, especially in protecting people's lives and health right in the community or at the scene of an accident.

Effective out-of-hospital emergency care helps save patients' lives during the "golden time" which is the decisive moment for survival; helps with early intervention, maintaining vital functions before entering the hospital; reduces mortality and neurological, cardiovascular, respiratory complications...; enhances response capacity in disasters and mass accidents (serious traffic accidents, fires, natural disasters...).

There is no complete and comprehensive legal framework specifically for out-of-hospital emergency care.

In Vietnam, the network of emergency medical systems outside the hospital has also been initially established. Some provinces and cities with high population density have established independent emergency centers outside the hospital (also known as 115 Emergency Centers).

Some other localities establish and coordinate out-of-hospital emergency care under the responsibility of provincial general hospitals or with the participation of private units.

However, the outpatient emergency system in Vietnam is still facing many difficulties and challenges, despite efforts to improve it from management agencies and the health sector.

Currently, Vietnam does not have a complete and comprehensive legal framework specifically for the outpatient emergency system; has not issued a national strategy or long-term plan for the development of the outpatient emergency system; health insurance does not cover this service, leading to difficulties in operating and expanding the service.

In addition, there is no overall coordination of the foreign emergency system nationwide; the coordination and implementation of activities is fragmented and fragmented by sector (health, police, fire prevention and fighting...) and by locality.

The 115 emergency hotline is not yet capable of classifying the patient's condition upon receiving the call, and the caller's information has not been recorded or processed. Service coverage is still low, and in many provinces, especially in remote areas, people have almost no access to standard emergency services outside the hospital.

The 115 Centers can only meet about 10-20% of emergency needs, the remaining 80-90% of cases are due to people going to the hospital themselves or having spontaneous volunteer emergency teams.

Human resources for emergency response activities at emergency units and in the community are still lacking and have not been trained regularly and continuously.

About 80% of staff are currently not trained in a standardized manner and there is no certification system or separate training standards for outpatient emergency personnel…

In addition, the quantity and quality of emergency equipment have not been invested to meet the needs of deployment. There is a lack of specific standards on the quantity and equipment for emergency teams.

Only about 60% of districts (before administrative unit merger) had ambulances; about 70% of ambulances did not meet international standards; the communication system was outdated and asynchronous.

The ratio of ambulances per 100,000 people in Vietnam is 0.2, while Singapore is 0.8, Japan and Taiwan (China) are 2-3, and South Korea is 2.

Regarding service quality, some studies show that the average response time for emergency care outside the hospital is much higher than the international standard of ≤ 8 minutes (urban), ≤ 15 minutes (rural). However, the survival rate after emergency care is not guaranteed compared to the international standard (65%).

Proposal to merge 113, 114, 115 into one national emergency number

First aid and disaster prevention forces of Binh Tan district and Ho Chi Minh City participate in a first aid demonstration. (Photo: Thanh Vu/VNA)

Therefore, the Ministry of Health has developed a Draft Project for developing the out-of-hospital emergency system 2025-2030 and is seeking opinions from relevant units.

The Ministry of Health sets specific goals by 2030: 100% of provinces/cities will complete the emergency care system outside the hospital, 100% of emergency vehicles will meet standards, at least 2 million people will be trained in first aid...

Notably, the project proposes to build a national emergency hotline with a single number, integrating single emergency phone numbers (113, 114, 115). This hotline operates 24/7, connecting online with emergency medical forces, fire prevention and fighting, traffic police, rescue forces, etc.

At the same time, apply information technology, artificial intelligence, and big data to locate and classify calls according to their level of urgency; store and analyze data to serve the assessment and forecast of emergency needs by region.

The project also mentions the training of emergency personnel through the establishment of regional emergency training centers; opening codes for training emergency personnel; standardizing and establishing the emergency training program for college level (3 years); university level (4 years); postgraduate level (specialty, advanced specialty); short-term training programs, continuous training; training for the community; perfecting regulations related to granting national emergency practice certificates for emergency personnel.

Organize training in the community and in schools; Expand international links in training, cooperation, and exchange of emergency personnel for foreign hospitals.

At the same time, the project also mentions investing in and building provincial emergency coordination centers and satellite emergency stations at the grassroots level; Investing in and building specific emergency models such as: river and coastal emergency, at sea, emergency in mountainous and highland areas.

Equip specialized ambulances with different types, suitable for the purpose of use;

Develop diverse ambulance models: Regular ambulance, ambulance motorcycle, off-road ambulance, rescue boat, speedboat...

Investing in and developing information technology applications; Telemedicine system, out-of-hospital emergency care.

Also in this draft, the Ministry of Health mentioned the construction of a legal corridor and policy mechanism on outpatient emergency care, including the construction of documents regulating outpatient emergency care related to job positions, professional titles; professional processes; regulations on organization and operation; inter-sectoral coordination mechanism; handling of violations; professional guidance...

The project implementation roadmap includes two phases. Phase 1 (2025-2027): Pilot in 6 localities: Bac Ninh, Hai Phong, Ha Tinh, Da Nang, Khanh Hoa, An Giang. Phase 2 (2027-2030): Expand the project implementation nationwide.../.

(Vietnam News Agency/Vietnam+)

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/toi-nam-2030-it-nhat-2-trieu-nguoi-dan-duoc-dao-tao-ve-so-cap-cuu-post1061263.vnp