At nearly 3 a.m., at the row of seats in front of the counter to get a queue number, Mrs. Muoi Loc (59 years old, from Chau Thanh, Dong Thap) filled out the information form and sat waiting. Having had a goiter for 20 years, she said: "The previous times my child went with me, now I tell her to go by herself. I often take the night bus to deliver vegetables and transport patients from Dong Thap to the city for examination."

Going back and forth to see the doctor took two days.

According to Mrs. Muoi Loc, if she has an early examination, she can return home by noon. If she has an ultrasound and waits for the results later, she has to wait until the afternoon.

In case of an ultrasound appointment in the afternoon, she would go to an outside clinic to have the ultrasound and then bring the results in. Although she calculated the time carefully, there were times when she had to rent a motel to sleep and continue the examination the next morning.

When the conversation ended, she closed her eyes to relieve her fatigue, instead of looking for a place to lie down for fear of losing her place. In the morning, she did not eat anything because the hospital would be doing blood tests, and she was afraid it would affect the results.

She honestly said: "I went up to the 3rd floor to get my blood tested, and almost fainted. At around 10am, I couldn't stand it anymore so I went out and walked a long way to find a restaurant. After eating, I hurried back to the hospital to wait for my appointment time."

At around 3am, holding a thick yellow medical record book with a diagnosis of hypothyroidism, Mrs. Tran Thi Mai (60 years old, from Cao Lanh, Dong Thap) said that after her re-examination here, she would take the opportunity to go to Binh Dan Hospital to have her intestines examined, and might have to stay overnight for a colonoscopy the next day. "If I don't have time for the examination, I brought my sleeping clothes with me. If I can sleep in the open, I will sleep in the open," she said.

Ms. Mai chose to have the examination during office hours instead of a service examination, saving about 150,000 VND. "If I go home, how can I get that much money? I can't read, no one will complain," she confided.

Having said that, she packed two hot lunch boxes from home that night in a plastic bag, with about two spoons of dried fish and rice packed tightly on top. Her daughter gave her 1 million VND a month, and it was heartbreaking to see her saving!

"Brokers" hang around promising to see you soon

Just stopping at the gate of Cho Ray Hospital to buy a bottle of mineral water, the seller greeted us warmly: "Are you going to see a doctor? It takes a long time to wait to get a number, I have a connection to get a number for you, it only costs 200,000 VND".

Then, a man in his 50s walked up, gave his business card and said his name was Thuy, and asked what kind of illness he wanted. This man said he just needed to take a photo of his ID, and call him at 6am to get a number to see him.

If you want to go in immediately, it's 300,000 VND, "no need to wait, just go in first". A moment later, this person said to give me my ID so I can go in and get a number and then come out and give it back, no need to give money right away.

When we asked if we were sure there was an early number, he said: "Sure. You want numbers from 1 to 10, right? I have them" and asked for his ID card. "Give it to me quickly, I'm leaving soon, I won't be here to help anymore", but in fact, half an hour later, we still saw this person parking his motorbike in front of the hospital gate.

At the gate of the Ho Chi Minh City Oncology Hospital, it was late at night but when she saw us, a middle-aged woman named Lan walked up. She asked: "What are you looking for? Let me send you in, number ten or something. At exactly 5:15, I will take you to the examination room. If you want to send it, give me your ID card, fill in your full name and address on this information sheet, then I will have the number to dial for you."

Seeing that the "prey" was still wondering, this person concluded: "If you want to get examined before me, you have to send someone else. I'll get the results in the morning and come back early. I'll pay you after the examination, I'm not cheating you." This person said that if you want, I'll "take you for an ultrasound in the morning, which costs more money."

The woman offered 250,000 VND for the smaller number and 350,000 VND for the smaller number. After a while, seeing that the other party had not made any move, a man familiar with Lan stepped forward, his face grimacing because he had not yet made a deal.

Inside the hospital, the loudspeaker warned people to go to the counter for instructions and not to listen to people outside.

At Binh Dan Hospital, some patients waiting for examination also said that there were "brokers" hanging around offering consultations. According to one patient waiting for examination, the price the "broker" offered was 300,000 VND.

Go see a doctor at midnight

At midnight or even earlier, many people were already rushing to major hospitals in Ho Chi Minh City to prepare for medical examination. They tried to line up to get a number before the sun rose, but still smiled bitterly when they saw many people who had arrived before them.