Jica signs with Cho Ray Hospital for brain injury rehabilitation

Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and Cho Ray Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City signed an agreement on March 1 for a project to improve brain injury rehabilitation services.

Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and Cho Ray Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City signed an agreement on March 1 for a project to improve brain injury rehabilitation services.

Cho Ray Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City's District 5
Cho Ray Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City's District 5

Under the “Project for Improving Medical Rehabilitation Service in the Southern Area of Vietnam”, JICA will provide technical assistance to Cho Ray and other Southern hospitals to improve brain injury rehabilitation.

“Rehabilitation is one of most three important tasks of medical institutions besides examination and treatment, but it has received very little attention recently,” Dr. Nguyen Truong Son, Director of Cho Ray Hospital said.

“At provincial level, rehabilitation departments are often integrated in the traditional medicine departments and lack professional staff,” Son said.

The project will also develop a rehabilitation handbook for patients and families following patients’ discharge from hospital.

The project follows the successful completion of a 2005-2008 JICA project at the hospital called “Supporting for people with disabilities”.

According to a survey conducted by Cho Ray Hospital, the current average number of rehabilitation staff is one physical therapist per 108 beds.

Only 10 per cent of cerebra-vascular accident and head trauma patients received rehabilitation treatment when they returned to provincial hospitals, according to data provided by Cho Ray Hospital.
Improvements to such rehabilitation services were urgently needed the survey said.

The three year project will commence in May.

Other news