When arriving at Pham Xa station (Tan Hung village, Tuan Viet commune, Kim Thanh district, Hai Duong), just ask about Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Tuy (73 years old), people will immediately mention "Mr. Tuy the rescuer". For more than 30 years, he has been quietly helping people in traffic accidents on National Highway 5.
According to Mr. Tuy, in the late 1980s, his family moved to the side of Highway 5, right next to Pham Xa station. This area often had accidents and was considered a black spot for traffic accidents. Seeing accident victims lying on the road, bleeding but not knowing how to give first aid while waiting for the ambulance to arrive, Mr. Tuy felt very sorry.
Faced with that concern, in 1992, Mr. Tuy researched and learned first aid and began to proactively support victims of traffic accidents. Regardless of day or night, whenever someone needed help, Mr. Tuy was always ready to be there.
“When I first started this job, I bought all the medical equipment such as splints, gauze, bandages, etc. with my own money. At that time, the economy was not good, but I still accepted to sell tons of rice to earn money to buy equipment to be ready to give first aid to anyone in need.
Many people said that what I did was to ask the victim to pay me after I survived. But I didn't care, because my wish was to save the accident victim as quickly as possible, not caring about any benefits," Mr. Tuy confided.
In 1999, Kim Thanh District Red Cross Society selected Mr. Tuy's house as a first aid point and sent him to attend a first aid training course. In 2006, when Hai Duong Province Red Cross Society implemented a project to improve first aid skills for traffic accidents on National Highway 5, Mr. Tuy was again selected to attend advanced training.
“Thanks to the training, my first aid skills have improved, and I have been able to save more people. Over the past 30 years, I have provided first aid and support to hundreds of accident victims,” Mr. Tuy shared.
In 2008, Mr. Tuy convinced and gathered 12 motorbike taxi drivers around Pham Xa station to form a motorbike taxi rescue team with him as the team leader. He directly trained them in first aid skills, provided them with uniforms, and organized the division of areas and shifts to ensure the fastest access and support to victims.
"In 2018, due to the requirement that first aid workers must have a medical certificate, we were forced to suspend operations for 2 years. In 2020, when the Hai Duong Red Cross reorganized the first aid team, I continued to participate and contribute my efforts to the rescue work," said Mr. Tuy.
During more than 30 years of dedication to the community, Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Tuy has been honored with many noble awards, including certificates of merit from the Vietnam Red Cross Society, certificates of merit from Hai Duong province and the 2006 KOVA award for outstanding examples in social life.
