Children’s Hospital satisfied with improved health services

The Children’s Hospital in Vientiane has seen good results in terms of fulfilling five criteria relating to service excellence and one relating to patient satisfaction over the past year.
The service excellence criteria specifically relate to patient admissions, cleanliness and hygiene, diagnosis, equal access to treatment, and overall quality of health services.
A report on the hospital’s progress was given at an annual meeting of hospital staff last week, when ideas on future plans were also discussed. But there are still challenges to be faced and lessons to be learned, it was noted.

During the meeting, top-performing staff were given awards in line with the number of patients expressing satisfaction with their services.
Speaking at the meeting, Minister of Health, Associate Prof. Dr Bounkong Syhavong, said it was essential to continue to build the capacity of paediatric staff so they could provide top quality treatment and advice to patients.
All medical staff needed to further broaden their knowledge in terms of their technical skills so they could provide the correct treatment, he added.
He said sound knowledge was required on the part of all staff so they could make the correct diagnoses and save the lives of more children. A better standard of paediatric healthcare was imperative if the government were to succeed in its goal of significantly lowering the infant mortality rate.
Hospital Director Dr Sommanikhone Phangmanixay said the hospital had improved its services and children under the age of five could now receive better quality care.
She said the hospital would continue its policy of providing free treatment for low-income patients to ensure that everyone had access to treatment, as part of the policy relating to the five criteria of service excellence and one of patient satisfaction.
“So far we have been successful in achieving the criteria on patient admissions as well as equal access to treatment and overall quality of health services,” she said.
Achieving these criteria would ensure patients received good quality treatment on an equal basis, thereby contributing to socio-economic development.
The hospital has a specific plan to develop an increasingly broad range of services from now until 2030, she added.
It is the hospital’s vision to become a modern facility that can guarantee high quality treatment and patient satisfaction in keeping with international health standards, Dr Sommanikhone said.
 The number of people visiting the hospital has increased every year.  Last year, 93,916 people were treated in outpatient clinics and 64,444 people were admitted for emergency treatment.
The Children’s Hospital opened in 2011 and has 70 beds. Its construction was funded by the government of the Republic of Korea.
Today it employs 136 medical staff and has 18 divisions, four units and two clinics, specialising in surgery, allergies, blood diseases, cancer, and children’s development.

By Phetphoxay Sengpaseuth
(Latest Update January 7, 2020)