Photo for illustration. Local media last weekends reported that a 57-year-old man in Tân Đông Hiệp Ward, Dĩ An City in Bình Dương City died at home after being refused by five medical facilities. VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính on Tuesday asked authorities in the southern province of Bình Dương to investigate a case in which a man died at home after five medical facilities in the province reportedly refused to provide him with emergency care last Friday night.

Local authorities and the Ministry of Health were also asked to examine healthcare facilities receiving patients and offering emergency care.

Relevant agencies must take action to meet people’s essential needs including food and healthcare, the PM said.

Local media last weekend reported that a 57-year-old man in Tân Đông Hiệp Ward, Dĩ An City in Bình Dương City, died at home after being refused treatment by five medical facilities.

According to his family, the man, who had previously suffered a stroke, vomited excessively on Friday evening but they could not contact an ambulance.

A neighbour then agreed to help take him to the hospital on his truck.

They first arrived at Dĩ An City Medical Center, but doctors there said the facility was focusing on treating COVID-19 patients and were not taking in other patients at this time.

The man was later brought to Ngọc Hồng Clinic where doctors transferred him to higher-level hospitals as he suffered from high blood pressure and had suffered a stroke.

The patient was then taken to Quân đoàn 4 Hospital which was being disinfected after receiving a COVID-19 patient.

Doctors at Quân đoàn 4 Hospital recommended taking him to Thủ Đức Hospital in HCM City. However, his family took him to other local facilities - An Phú General Hospital and Nam Anh General Clinic.

None of the medical facilities provided him with treatment, saying to the family that their doctors were focusing on COVID-19 prevention and control and that they did not have sufficient equipment for emergency treatment.

The patient was taken to his house early Saturday morning and reportedly died three hours later.

Vice director of Bình Dương Province Police Trần Văn Chính said that police were investigating to see if there was any criminal violation in the medical facilities’ response to the case.

Director of the province’s Health Department Nguyễn Hồng Chương said that at this time, many medical facilities in the province were overloaded due to increasing COVID-19 infections.

Local medical workers were under high pressure due to the pandemic, he said.

“Refusing a patient who needs emergency care is a violation. If the violation occurs, individuals and parties involved would be strictly punished,” he said.

The province’s Health Department would publish a list of medical facilities that offer medical examination and treatment to all patients, not only those with COVID-19, he said.

Quân đoàn 4 Hospital and Dĩ An City Medical Centre which are now offering treatment for COVID-19 patients would have to receive other patients too, he said.

Bình Dương Province is currently the second-largest COVID-19 hotspot in Việt Nam, with over 46,500 local infections recorded since the fourth wave started on April 27. 

On August 8, it reported a record daily increase of more than 3,200 cases. In the last seven days, the average number of new community cases reported in the province is nearly 2,100 cases per day. — VNS