Khanh Hoa Pre-Hospital Trauma Care

The Pre-Hospital Trauma Care Development (PHTC) Project in Khanh Hoa is a continuing effort by Counterpart International (Counterpart) to support Vietnam's injury prevention and emergency medical services. The goal of the three-year Atlantic Philanthropies-funded project is to develop an evidence-based sustainable pre-hospital trauma care system in Khanh Hoa Province that can serve as a model to be replicated in other areas and provinces of Vietnam.

PHTC aims to build a comprehensive tiered pre-hospital trauma care system based on the model recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) in the PHTC Guidelines (2005). The ultimate purpose of the project is to demonstrate a cost-effective and sustainable model for timely and effective injury care for Vietnam.

Counterpart's Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and Injury Prevention (IP) program began in 2000, with a 1-year USAID-funded pilot project to strengthen EMS in Ha Noi, Vietnam. The success of the pilot project laid the foundation for further donor support, which was eventually secured to continue the program in Ha Noi and replicate the model in several other Vietnamese provinces, including Khanh Hoi.

In close collaboration with the Khanh Hoa Department of Health and the Khanh Hoa chapter of the Red Cross, Counterpart is working to achieve the following outcomes through this project:

• establish a cost-effective and sustainable PHTC model in Khanh Hoa province of Vietnam; 
• improve the quality of services for injured victims by increasing the number of adequately trained personnel throughout Khanh Hoa; 
• increase the public's knowledge and support for PHTC services by demonstrating the benefits of self-help and appropriate bystander first response care and gaining public participation in injury prevention efforts in Khanh Hoa;
• strengthen the capacity of local partners in planning and implementing a cost-effective PHTC model; and
• improve the overall administration and coordination of existing PHTC services.

Photos: © Counterpart International.