Saving people in time for the ‘golden hour’ thanks to the trauma emergency model at the gateway of Ho Chi Minh City

A young man in a traffic accident was rushed through the door of the Emergency Department in a state of severe hemorrhagic shock, his chest was damaged leading to acute respiratory failure, barely alive on the line between life and death. The resuscitation, imaging and surgical teams coordinated treatment on the spot.

The results determined that the patient had multiple severe injuries including traumatic brain injury, femur fracture and hemothorax. After urgent consultation, the patient received emergency surgery combined with intensive resuscitation. Thanks to timely coordination, without missing the golden moment, the young man’s life was saved spectacularly and he recovered well.

This is one of the sweet fruits in more than a year that Thu Duc General Hospital signed a cooperation agreement to receive the transfer of expertise from a series of last-line “elders” such as Gia Dinh People’s Hospital, Binh Dan, Heart, Eye, Children’s Institute 2, Oncology and Central Odonto-Stomatology, under the direction of the Department of Health of Ho Chi Minh City, April 11, 2025. At the same time, the hospital restructured its emergency network, directly integrating the “Trauma Emergency Center” into the Emergency Department.

Accordingly, patients with multiple injuries are received, resuscitated, image diagnosed, consulted and intervened right at one point, instead of moving through many departments as before. The internal hospital red alert process is optimized, helping to activate a quick multi-specialty response as soon as a patient is admitted to the hospital, making full use of every minute of patient treatment.

Thanks to continuous professional support, the hospital’s emergency and resuscitation capacity has improved significantly. The number of hospital transfers decreased from about 135 previously to 30 in the past year. All referred cases are initially stabilized, ensuring safety before intensive treatment. In addition to multiple injuries, the hospital has also effectively treated many cases of stroke, myocardial infarction, respiratory failure and septic shock.

Director of Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health Tang Chi Thuong commented that this model shows a suitable direction in the organization of the health system, when gateway hospitals are no longer transfer stations but gradually become independent “medical poles” in the “multi-layer – multi-pole – multi-center” model. In the coming time, this place will develop into a modern emergency center, meeting the care needs of people in the Eastern gateway area.