Early in the morning of January 8, driver Nguyen Van Don drove an ambulance carrying the patient to Chau Doc General Hospital for emergency treatment, then returned to the Management Board of Hoa Hao Buddhist Church, Phu Huu commune (An Giang province) to park the car and wait on duty.
Once called an ambulance, regardless of day or night, rain or wind or Tet holiday, just a call and you have to go immediately," shared Mr. Nguyen Van Don (resident of Vinh Phuoc hamlet, Phu Huu commune, An Giang province) - a driver who has been attached to the charity ambulance team for more than 10 years in Vinh Loc commune, An Phu district, former An Giang province (now Phu Huu commune, An Giang province).
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, do not receive allowances. Vehicles are mainly maintained from socialized sources, contributed by philanthropists and people.
For charity ambulance drivers, each trip is a real race against time. Mr. Vo Van Tung (resident of Vinh Phuoc hamlet, Phu Huu commune, An Giang province) - a driver with more than 10 years of attachment to the charity ambulance team - said that when carrying patients, drivers dare to honk the horn and turn on the lights to ask for directions. Meeting people who understand, they give way, but when there is a lot of traffic and traffic jams, they only know how to be impatient.
Many patients after overcoming the critical condition have found ways to come back and say thank you. We do not expect to be repaid. Just seeing patients overcome the critical condition and their families breathing a sigh of relief is enough," Mr. Tung said.
Mr. Ngo Nguyen Soi - Deputy Head of the Executive Board of Hoa Hao Buddhist Sangha, Phu Huu commune (An Giang province) - informed that for more than 11 years, 2 ambulances of the management unit have taken more than 6,100 patients to medical facilities for treatment, all completely free of charge.
In the border area, people's lives are still difficult. Therefore, with the agreement on the policy of the Vinh Loc Commune Party Committee in the past (now Phu Huu Commune Party Committee), in 2014, the Executive Board of Hoa Hao Buddhist Sangha of Vinh Loc commune (now the Executive Board of Hoa Hao Buddhist Sangha of Phu Huu commune) mobilized philanthropists and people to contribute to buy ambulances to serve people for free. Then continued to mobilize to buy another one, to date there are a total of 2 ambulances operating regularly," Mr. Soi said.
According to Mr. Soi, there are currently 5 drivers registered to participate in driving ambulances, without salary. They are farmers, teachers, participating completely voluntarily and operating regularly. Drivers register for 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 like Phu Huu commune, access to upper-level hospitals is not easy. The distance from the patient's house to the hospital can be up to dozens, even hundreds of kilometers. For many poor households, the cost of renting private ambulances is a very heavy burden. In that situation, charity ambulances of the Executive Committee of the Hoa Hao Buddhist Sangha of Phu Huu commune operate very effectively, becoming the only support, helping people reach medical facilities for treatment quickly and conveniently.
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