NATIONAL HOSPITAL OF PEDIATRICS
The National Hospital of Pediatrics (NHP) was initially established in 1969 as the Institute for the Protection of Children's Health. It had also been known as the Vietnam-Sweden Children’s Hospital and the Olof Palmer Pediatric Institute prior to adopting its current name in 1997.
In 1972, the National Hospital of Pediatrics was heavily damaged by bombing raids. With aid from Swedish citizens and the Vietnamese government, the NHP was able to begin rebuilding in 1975 and was active again by 1981. Currently, the NHP employs 823 staff members.
The National Hospital of Pediatrics was established to follow the model of the pediatric department in the Bach Mai General Hospital of Hanoi. The Ministry of Health designated the NHP as the leading pediatric department in all of Vietnam. The NHP is the coordinator and the top center for pediatric care in the country.
Areas of patient care include the following:
1)Treatment
The areas of treatment in the NHP include neurology, respiratory diseases, malnutrition, oncology, nephrology, endocrinology, hematology, cardiology, gastroenterology, surgery, neonatology, intensive care, emergency, infectious disease, psychiatry, anaesthesiology, surgical recovery, traditional East Asian medicine, out-patient examination, and physiotherapy rehabilitation. Each of these departments receives patients from all provinces of Northern Vietnam, as well as some patients from Central and Southern Vietnam.
The NIP sees on average 24,000 in-patients and 190,000 out-patients per year. Each year, the NIP also performs 5000 major surgical operations, including neurosurgery, thoracic surgery, cardiac surgery, urogenital surgery, gastrointestinal surgery, and reconstructive and orthopedic surgery. The practice of laproscopy was initiatied in 1977, and has allowed the execution of such complicated surgeries as inflammatory bowel surgery/hernia and heart murmurs. With the application of new scientific technologies, the NHP has succeeded in maintaining a decline in mortality rates during the past few years.
2)Scientific Research
The National Hospital of Pediatrics is the leading research center for pediatrics in the country. The NHP carries out research at a basic level, a ministry level and a government level every year.
3)Training
The National Hospital of Pediatrics collaborates with the pediatric department of the Medical University of Hanoi in training medical students, specialists, sub-specialists, general practitioners, and MD-PhDs. With the collaboration of other international pediatric institutes, the NHP also holds 20 to 25 training sessions for doctors and nurses from all over the country in an effort to provide greater knowledge to Vietnamese health care workers.
4)Leadership in Pediatrics
As the leading center for pediatrics, the National Hospital of Pediatrics is able to offer quick, high-calibre diagnoses and treatments for Vietnamese youth. NHP hopes to use its leading role to decrease the mortality rate further and improve its emergency facilities in the future.
5)Public Health Education
The National Hospital of Pediatrics believes in public education of parents early on regarding child-raising, disease and illness . The NHP promotes public health through various forms such as through consultations, newspaper articles, and televised presentations.
6) International Collaborations
The Hospital currently holds important collaborations with Japan International Cooperation Agency, the Royal Children’s Hospital of Melbourne, the Friendship Organization ICPH of Sweden, the American Veterans Association, REI association of the USA, and Project Vietnam (based in United States).
