Unpaid emergency drivers in the border area of An Giang

Early on January 8, driver Nguyen Van Don drove an ambulance to take the patient to Chau Doc General Hospital for emergency treatment, then returned to the Board of Directors of Hoa Hao Buddhist Sangha in Phu Huu Commune (An Giang Province) to park the vehicle and wait on duty.

"When it is called an emergency, regardless of day or night, rain or holiday, just need a call and you have to go immediately", Mr. Nguyen Van Don (residing in Vinh Phuoc Hamlet, Phu Huu Commune, An Giang Province) - a driver who has been with the charity ambulance team in Vinh Loc Commune, An Phu District, the old An Giang Province for more than 10 years - shared.

According to Mr. Don, unlike ambulances belonging to public health facilities, these vehicles operate completely free of charge. Drivers do not have labor contracts, do not receive salaries, and do not receive allowances. Vehicles are maintained mainly from socialized sources, contributed by benefactors and people.

For charity ambulance drivers, each trip is a real race against time. Mr. Vo Van Tung (residing in Vinh Phuoc Hamlet, Phu Huu Commune, An Giang Province) - a driver who has been with the charity ambulance team for more than 10 years - said that when transporting a patient, the driver dares to turn on the horn and lights to ask for a way. When meeting someone who understands them, they give up, but when there are many vehicles and traffic jams, they are just impatient.

Many patients after being out of danger have tried to return to say thank you. We do not expect to be thanked. Just seeing the patient through the critical stage and the family breathing a sigh of relief was enough, said Mr. Tung.

Mr. Ngo Nguyen Soi - Deputy Head of the Board of Directors of Hoa Hao Buddhist Sangha in Phu Huu Commune (An Giang Province) - informed that over the past 11 years, 2 ambulances of the management unit have taken more than 6,100 patients to medical facilities for treatment, all of which are completely free.

"In the border area, people's lives are still difficult. Therefore, with the consent of the policy of the former Vinh Loc Commune Party Committee (now Phu Huu Commune Party Committee), in 2014, the Executive Committee of Hoa Hao Buddhist Sangha in Vinh Loc Commune (now the Executive Committee of Hoa Hao Buddhist Sangha in Phu Huu Commune) mobilized philanthropists and people to contribute to buying ambulances to serve people for free. Then continue to campaign to buy another one, up to now there are a total of 2 ambulances operating regularly," said Mr. Soi.

According to Mr. Soi, there are currently 5 drivers registered to drive ambulances, not receiving salaries. They are farmers and teachers, participating completely voluntarily and working regularly. Drivers register to be on duty on fixed days of the week, proactively arranging personal work to promptly take patients to medical facilities for treatment.

Ms. Lam Thi Ngoc Giau - Chairwoman of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of Phu Huu commune (An Giang province) - said that in border areas such as Phu Huu commune, accessing upper-level hospitals is not easy. The distance from the patient's home to the hospital can sometimes be up to tens, even hundreds of kilometers. For many poor households, the cost of renting private ambulances is a huge burden. In that situation, charity ambulances of the Hoa Hao Buddhist Sangha Central Committee of Phu Huu commune have been operating very effectively, becoming the only support, helping people go to medical facilities for quick and convenient treatment.

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