Emergency medical service satisfies only 1% of the demand from local people in Ho Chi Minh City, the most populous city of Vietnam, said a doctor from the city-based Trung Vuong Emergency Hospital. People complain that the urgent medical services and 115 hotline often make them wait for a long time. The service is not professional enough for lacking a specialized operation mechanism, making it incapable of responding to natural disasters. “We have to wait up to 10 minutes before seeing an ambulance while our health is critical conditions, so we have to bring our relatives to hospitals by ourselves,” said a local resident. In 2010, the number of emergency cases citywide was 751,000, of which those using 115 hot line stood at 6,159. In addition, many dwellers are even blind to the 115 service, she said, citing a recent survey by the hospital saying that only 34% of the municipal population knows about this. According to Nguyen The Dung, former director of the municipal Department of Health, it is necessary to restructure the emergency service to meet the rising demand amid heavy traffic congestions. (Tuoi Tre – Youth Oct 17)
