Celebrating Tet at Phu Tho Mental Hospital

Phu Tho Mental Hospital - a special hospital with special patients; a place with special emotions, a place with silent sacrifices to treat and soothe the mental trauma of patients.

Panorama of Phu Tho Mental Hospital

15 tearful Tet seasons...

Phu Tho Mental Hospital is located in Phu Tho town. Stepping inside the hospital is a landscaped environment, a cool, clean green space; the departments, rooms, and lobby areas are arranged neatly, spaciously, and create a comfortable, friendly feeling for the patients. However, somewhere in each treatment and patient care room, there are distant, heavy, soulless eyes, silent mouths or laughing for no reason, screaming... They (patients) are in the boundary of reality or delusions about another world , forced to stay in the hospital to fight the disease, to return to normal life in their true selves.

Of the 20 years working at the Mental Hospital, nurse Doan Thi Thu Hanh - Acute Psychosis Department, Phu Tho Mental Hospital has been on duty on the first day of Tet at the hospital for 15 years. She has gone through many difficulties and hardships in performing her nursing duties and serving patients, but she has never felt discouraged. Ms. Hanh confided: Nursing work here is also quite hard, especially for female staff. When facing patients, especially those with substance addictions, the common mentality is fear because patients can have an attack at any time. Being chased, beaten, scratched, having food poured on them... are things that happen all the time. But if they are always afraid, who will take care of them, because not all patients have relatives to take care of them. We are relatives, sympathizers, sharers, encouragers, caregivers, overcome pressure to complete the job well and every time a patient recovers or recovers well, and soon reintegrates into the community, we have more motivation, love and attachment to the profession.

Nurse Doan Thi Thu Hanh (short hair) - Acute Psychosis Department with doctors and nurses taking care of patients

Tet is a time of happiness for every family, people reunite, watch fireworks on New Year's Eve and visit relatives, friends... Understanding the psychology of patients who have to stay in the hospital to celebrate Tet, every doctor, nurse is a relative of the patient to celebrate Tet together, share their wishes and dreams, help them balance their psychology and behavior, feel secure to stay in the hospital to celebrate Tet and receive treatment. It is not uncommon for patients to try to escape from the hospital to go home or wander around..., but doctors and nurses intervene promptly, go find them, encourage and advise them to return to the hospital to celebrate Tet with other patients.

Nurse Hanh shared: I have a strong support system, they share the hardships of the profession, especially when I am on duty during Tet at the hospital. As many Tet seasons have passed, there have been many happy and sad memories. Celebrating Tet with patients has become a familiar thing not only for me but also for all the staff, doctors and nurses at the hospital.

Hospital doctors examine patients

"Doctor, please let me stay for Tet" - that was the question of patient Nguyen Tien Dong in Tu Hiep commune, Ha Hoa district. Patient Dong was admitted to the hospital at the end of December 2024 when the Lunar New Year of At Ty was approaching. 30 years old, without wife or children, Dong looked naive and quiet, making the doctors feel sorry. Young with many ambitions, but due to a moment of carelessness while helping with construction work, Dong suffered a serious work accident. Doctors assessed that Dong had symptoms of organic mental disorder. He did not completely lose consciousness; when he was conscious, Dong still politely asked the doctors to go home for Tet; when he was unconscious, Dong asked the doctors to let him stay for Tet together.

Doctor CKII Tran Canh Phong talks with patient Dong

Doctor CKII Tran Canh Phong - Head of the Department of Acute Psychosis, Phu Tho Mental Hospital said: Every time Tet comes, many patients ask "Can I go home to celebrate Tet?"; "Can I stay to celebrate Tet?" or "Will my family take me home to celebrate Tet with my family this Tet?"... Every time I hear that question, sympathy and sorrow well up in my heart and it is not easy to answer the patient.

“We are also very worried when patients go home to celebrate Tet with their families and relatives, because society is not tolerant enough for people with mental illness,” Dr. Phong shared. Just one sentence, a different look, or too much drinking can make patients return to the starting point of the first period of hospitalization.

Patient Pham Van H in Thanh Ba district confided: "I really want to go home to celebrate Tet with my family, but not many people are excited about welcoming a mentally ill person. They are afraid of being unlucky all year round, which makes me afraid to interact and meet them, and I just want to celebrate Tet at the hospital. All patients are the same, no scrutinizing eyes, only sharing, encouragement, and sympathy from the doctors and nurses here."

Doctors at Phu Tho Mental Hospital measure cerebral blood flow to screen for early brain-related diseases in patients.

Doctor CKII Tran Canh Phong - Head of the Department of Acute Psychosis added: Patients register or their families ask for them to go home to celebrate Tet. The hospital provides enough medicine, instructs the family to give the patient the right dose and on time; requires the family and the patient to commit to not using stimulants to ensure the patient's health. In case the patient has unusual symptoms, is mentally unstable... the hospital is ready to receive the patient back for treatment at any time.

Welcome Spring happily, warm the hearts of the sick

Unlike other hospitals, Tet at Phu Tho Mental Hospital is not quiet, but not too bustling either. For the patients here, when awake, they are still clearly aware and feel the changes with the Tet atmosphere. Happiness and sadness are mixed, erratic, crying and laughing for no reason. During Tet At Ty, most of the patients are taken home by their families to celebrate Tet; only about 35-40 patients remain in the hospital. Most of them are seriously ill patients who do not qualify to go home for Tet and poor patients with no one to rely on. During Tet, only doctors, nurses and patients are friends with each other.

Take advantage of decorating to prepare for Tet in the hospital

Doctor CKII Le Tien Manh - Director of Phu Tho Mental Hospital shared: To ensure that patients have a full and complete Tet holiday, the hospital's Board of Directors has developed a plan to celebrate Tet for patients and assigned specific tasks to each department, staff and employee; prepared enough medicine to serve the treatment and admission of patients; ensured safe and nutritious meals... Each department and room proactively decorated to create a Tet atmosphere with flashing lights, Tet symbols, bought fruits, candies, green Chung cakes, and prepared lucky money envelopes. Tet meals are more complete for both patients and their families.

To encourage the spirit of doctors and nurses on duty during Tet and patients being treated, provincial leaders, city Party Committee leaders, and hospital leaders often pay attention, give gifts, lucky money, and send New Year wishes to staff, doctors and nurses on duty, and each patient. In addition, the hospital also coordinates with philanthropists and volunteer groups to visit and give many meaningful gifts to patients, promptly encouraging patients to overcome difficulties, feel secure in treatment, and have more conditions to celebrate the traditional national New Year more warmly and fully.

Doctor CKII Le Tien Manh gives Tet gifts to patients

A new spring is coming, celebrating Tet with mental patients has become familiar with many emotions of the staff, doctors and nurses of Phu Tho Mental Hospital. The greatest joy of the doctors and nurses here is when the patients show signs of improvement, become more alert and can overcome the disease, and integrate into the community.

Philanthropists visit, wish Happy New Year, give gifts to patients

Ngoc Tuan

Source: https://baophutho.vn/don-tet-o-benh-vien-tam-than-phu-tho-226535.htm