Sometimes it seemed like all the doors were closed
In the early days of June 2026, at Hung Khanh Commune Health Station (Lao Cai province), nurse Pham Thi Phuong (44 years old) was busy preparing documents and receiving patients. That familiar job seemed very normal, but for Ms. Phuong and many colleagues, it was a happiness that had been waiting for many years. "I never thought that one day I would return to my professional work in a public health facility. Sometimes it seemed like all the doors were closed," Ms. Phuong shared.
Few people know that behind the female nurse's smile is a journey of nearly 5 years living in salary delays, social insurance debts, precarious jobs and a bleak future. Once a familiar medical examination and treatment facility for people in the Northwest mountainous region, Yen Bai GTVT Hospital at one point had nearly 100 officials and employees. However, from 2021, the hospital began to fall into a state of financial imbalance, not having enough capacity to pay salaries to employees.
In the following years, professional activities became increasingly narrower. On June 1, 2024, the hospital officially stopped medical examination and treatment activities because there were no more people responsible for professional and technical matters as prescribed.
No more patients, no more revenue, but many officials and employees still stay to look after facilities and protect state property. They go to work without salary, without allowances, and do not know when benefits will be resolved. Many people have to drive motorbike taxis, sell goods outside the market, do all kinds of jobs to cover their lives. Some people are owed from 80 to 150 million VND in salary and related benefits. “My family has repeatedly advised me to quit my job, but giving up the profession is regrettable, and if I continue, I don't know what the future will be like,” Ms. Bui Thi Mai Phuong (42 years old), a pharmacist at the hospital, recalled.
When workers come to Lao Dong Newspaper
At the end of 2025, in the most difficult time, the collective of officials and employees of Yen Bai GTVT Hospital came to the Representative Office of Lao Dong Newspaper in the Northwest with the desire to hear their voices. Petitions and meetings lasting for hours fully reflected the reality of a hospital being "clinically dead", while dozens of medical staff are still stuck between salary and insurance debts and uncertainty about the future.
From that reality, Lao Dong Newspaper has continuously published articles reflecting the difficult situation of workers at Yen Bai GTVT Hospital, and at the same time proposed that functional agencies soon have solutions to remove obstacles. Not only stopping at reflecting the current situation, Lao Dong Newspaper also pursued the case for a long time, continuously updating developments, conveying the thoughts and aspirations of officials and employees to competent agencies.
After the articles of Lao Dong Newspaper, Lao Cai Provincial People's Committee directed relevant departments and agencies to comprehensively review the hospital situation, organize many meetings with the Ministry of Construction, the Department of Transport Health and related agencies to find solutions to remove obstacles. The consistent spirit identified by the Central Government and localities is not to let medical staff be abandoned and not to let workers bear the consequences of the unit's prolonged difficulties.
According to a report by the Lao Cai Provincial People's Committee, the hospital currently has 16 people, including 14 public employees and 2 contract workers. On May 31, 2026, the Lao Cai Provincial Department of Home Affairs issued a decision to receive and transfer 12 public employees of the hospital to work at medical units in the province. Two public employees working in accounting and two contract workers continue to stay to perform tasks related to handling hospital shortcomings. This reception not only helps solve employment but also opens up opportunities for medical staff to continue to contribute to the profession they have been attached to for many years.
Doctor Nguyen Thi Hien (43 years old), who just started working at Viet Hong Commune Health Station, emotionally shared: "If it weren't for Lao Dong Newspaper speaking out and pursuing it to the end, perhaps we would still not know where to cling to. Although we have to go to work further than before, continuing to work and taking care of patients is what we have been longing for for many years." For health workers who have gone through a long period of unpaid salaries, putting on their white blouse again and working according to their expertise is more meaningful than a normal transfer decision.
The journey to protect workers continues
The latest report of Lao Cai Provincial People's Committee shows that the hospital's acceptance in its original state is not yet possible. After a review process, functional agencies determined that the hospital had completely stopped operating since June 2024; the organizational structure no longer operates as a medical examination and treatment facility; assets, land, and equipment have not been fully inventoried and appraised according to the actual situation.
In particular, the hospital still has many receivables, payables and financial obligations that have not been completely resolved, including salary debt, social insurance, health insurance, unemployment insurance and debts to suppliers of medicines, supplies and medical equipment. Therefore, the Lao Cai Provincial People's Committee has proposed not to accept the hospital in its original state for the time being, and at the same time proposed that the Government consider a plan to dissolve or handle the overall situation for this unit. The locality also requested relevant ministries and sectors to soon guide the mechanism for resolving outstanding debts to ensure the legitimate rights of employees. This is also what the remaining officials of the hospital are waiting for every day.
We hope the Government and ministries and sectors will soon have specific guidance to resolve it thoroughly. For many officials, it is not only salary and insurance but also the whole life of dedication," nurse Nguyen Thi Bich Thuan (48 years old), who has been attached to Yen Bai GTVT Hospital for more than 20 years, expressed.
Yen Bai GTVT Hospital is located on a campus of more than 1,200 m2 in Yen Bai ward, Lao Cai province, including 4 buildings: the patient treatment area of the Traditional Medicine department, building A, building B and building C. According to Mr. Lai Van Quynh - Head of the Organization Department, Chairman of the Trade Union of Yen Bai GTVT Hospital, the total salary debt of the hospital is more than 5 billion VND, social insurance debt is about 1.4 billion VND and debt to suppliers is hundreds of millions of VND. Not only salaries, the payment of social insurance, health insurance, and unemployment insurance is delayed for more than 24 months, causing many workers to lose their legitimate rights.
