The 115 People’s Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City recently fulfilled ten criteria to become the first medical institution in Vietnam to have been awarded the Diamond Status of the Angels Award by the World Stroke Organization (WSO).

The hospital organized a ceremony to receive the certificate on Tuesday.

Previously, the Hue Central Hospital in central Thua Thien – Hue Province, Dong Nai General Hospital in southern Dong Nai Province, and Military Hospital 103 in Hanoi achieved Platinum Status in June 2020.

In 2019, the 115 People’s Hospital was also the first medical institution in Asia to win the Gold Status of the WSO Angels Award.

The prestigious WSO award is given to stroke centers around the world adopting strict requirements in training, equipment, and the treatment of acute strokes, among other measures.

The award, coming in three levels of Gold Status, Platinum Status, and Diamond Status, is calculated quarterly, aiming to provide practical support to improve stroke care globally, recognize and promote best practice in stroke care, and share key research on the implementation of quality treatment.

The requirements for institutions to be recognized with Diamond Status include 75 percent of patients treated from door to recanalization therapy in less than 60 minutes, 25 percent of patients receiving recanalization procedure out of total hospitalization cases, and 90 percent of all suspected stroke patients undergoing CT or MRI imaging procedure.

In addition, 90 percent of all stroke patients undergo dysphagia screening, 90 percent of Ischaemic stroke patients are discharged with antiplatelet, 90 percent of atrial fibrillation-related stroke patients are discharged with anticoagulants, and stroke patients are treated in a dedicated stroke unit during their hospital stay.

In 2020, the 115 People’s Hospital treated nearly 13,000 brain stroke patients, according to Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Huy Thang, chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Stroke Association and head of the department of cerebrovascular diseases at the hospital.

The hospital also shortened the hospitalization duration of patients with a brain stroke from 5.88 days in 2016 to 4.03 days in 2020.

Stroke is the second leading cause of death and disability worldwide and is responsible for 116 million years of healthy life lost each year, according to WSO.

In Vietnam, 200,000 people suffer from strokes each year, of which 104,000 lost their lives to this incommunicable disease, the Ministry of Health said in an article published in 2017 in its Suc Khoe & Doi Song (Health & Life) magazine.