Making a difference in central Vietnam: neonatal nurse training - by Suzanna Lubran

Each newborn child has the promise of a life, of love, family and achievement. In Vietnam, many children do not live beyond their first birthday, and the promise is lost. A new charitable initiative aims to make a difference, working with Canterbury Christ Church University to bring training and resources to a major maternity hospital in Da Nang province in the centre of Vietnam. You can help this important work, as a supporter, a fund raiser or even with a more direct involvement.

Newborns Vietnam, a UK registered charity, is working in partnership with the Da Nang Department of Health and Da Nang Hospital for Women & Children to advance neonatal care. This is a long-term relationship to reduce neonatal mortality and minimise morbidities among children admitted to neonatal intensive care.

A new 600-bed Da Nang Hospital for Women & Children opened in April 2011 and is designated as a neonatal training centre for the central region of Vietnam. The hospital includes a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and a high dependency unit. These were designed, developed and funded through a partnership involving the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Da Nang Department of Health, the Department of Pediatrics at Da Nang General Hospital and a number of NGOs. This partnership highlighted the need to support the Department of Health to improve newborn care across the central region. This led to the setting up of Newborns Vietnam.

Newborns Vietnam aims to: increase the skills and capacity in birthing and newborn care of doctors, nurses and health workers across the region, improve neonatal resuscitation in delivery rooms and theatres, minimise community and hospital-acquired newborn infections, and provide safe neonatal transport (to reduce morbidity for babies needing transport to the Da Nang General Hospital).

There are around 10,000 deliveries a year at the new hospital. Many are high risk and involve complications. Very sick or premature babies are cared for in the NICU and later may be looked after with their mother in the high dependency unit. 
Every month the NICU admits over 200 neonates (newborns less than 29 days old). About 60% of NICU admissions are babies born in the hospital. The rest are referred from the community or hospitals in the surrounding provinces, Quang Nam, Quang Ngai and Thua Thien Hue. This catchment area has a population of over 4m.

Care of critically ill neonates is improving year on year, but newborn care is still not optimal. There are too few doctors and nurses with appropriate training in newborn care and specifically the care of sick or low birth weight newborns. Major factors in the mortality rate remaining high are the lack of nursing and medical staff, critical shortage of equipment, and limited knowledge. Health workers in rural areas still lack the skills and experience to take prompt life-saving action and their knowledge of resuscitation is limited.  

The long-term goal is for the Da Nang neonatal unit to become a regional centre of excellence to support and advance newborn care at every level across the region.

Newborns Vietnam is seeking resources to: address the critical shortage of trained nurses and health workers, develop an internationally-led neonatal intensive care nurse training programme, and provide basic and more technically advanced equipment.  Investment in neonatal nurse training is our top priority and will make the biggest difference to the life chances of the children of central Vietnam.

The Royal College of Nursing has helped us make contacts with individuals and organisations in the UK. We are delighted to have an opportunity to work with Canterbury Christ Church University to explore the potential to develop Vietnam’s first international standard neonatal nurse training programme. An assessment visit is planned for February 2012. 
If you would like to support our Newborns First nurse training fundraising appeal, you can Cycle a Difference in Vietnam. More information at www.cycle-a-difference.com .