On the afternoon of November 28, Mr. Nguyen Trong Khoa, Deputy Director of the Department of Medical Examination and Treatment Management (Ministry of Health) signed a document to send to the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health, regarding the review and verification of the content of the reflection of Dan Tri newspaper.

Accordingly, the Ministry of Health's document included the original article "Emergency patient had to lie on the floor of Pham Ngoc Thach Hospital to receive IV?", published in Dan Tri newspaper on the morning of November 28.

The article noted the incident in which many patients treated at Pham Ngoc Thach Hospital (HCMC) in recent days had to share beds in the Emergency Department. Because it was too crowded, many people had to spread mats on the floor.

Patients said that even though they shared a bed, they still had to pay the hospital fee for a single bed. If anyone wanted to sleep alone, they had to go to the service area, which cost about 1.5 million VND/day.

Some people expressed concern that sleeping together or close to each other would cause the risk of cross-infection, as most of the patients had serious lung infections.

The Department of Medical Examination and Treatment Management requests the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health to urgently clarify the above reflection content for timely correction and direction. At the same time, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health must report to the Department of Medical Examination and Treatment Management before December 3.

Previously, after the reporter contacted to learn about the above incident, Dr. Le Tien Dung, Deputy Director of Pham Ngoc Thach Hospital, said he would forward Dan Tri newspaper's questions to the unit's Board of Directors and related departments for answers.

On November 22, when we contacted again because we did not receive a response, Mr. Dung said that he had informed the Board of Directors. If we wanted to receive an answer, we should call the hospital switchboard and contact the Quality Management Department, or go to the hospital to work at the Social Work Department.

The reporter continued to contact Dr. Tran Nhat Quang, head of the General Planning Department, Pham Ngoc Thach Hospital to schedule a meeting on the above content.

Doctor Quang shared that he had received the questions that the reporter had sent earlier, and also said that the hospital had many solutions to deal with overload, which were included in the unit's action plan.

But when asked to confirm that the patient had to share a bed and lie on the floor of the Emergency Department, Dr. Quang requested that an official dispatch be sent to the unit, explaining that the General Planning Department was only responsible for receiving information and advising, and the Board of Directors was responsible for responding.

On November 25, when reporters went to Pham Ngoc Thach Hospital during working hours, they were directed to the Documents Room. An employee in this room received the Referral Letter from Dan Tri Newspaper and said that they would respond when the Board of Directors approved the response.

The reporter called the phone number of Mr. Nguyen Huu Lan, Director of Pham Ngoc Thach Hospital, clearly identified himself and said that he had previously sent questions related to the patient's complaints at the Emergency Department. However, he hung up and could not be contacted afterwards.