Cancer Hospital extorting money from patients: number of people reporting increased rapidly, had to pay 200k bribe, ignored

The scandal at K Hospital exploded after a clip by Ms. Dau Thanh Tam reflected that each time a patient had to undergo radiation therapy there, they had to pay 200,000 VND. This is a burning issue that has been buzzing for a long time, so public opinion immediately "stormed" with extremely harsh reactions.

In particular, after the K Hospital's announcement that the bad information about this hospital was "fabricated and slanderous", the number of people reacting on social networks with comments confirming that what Ms. Tam reflected was true increased. There were even clips of many patients unanimously confirming that they had to pay money to receive radiation therapy, and then clips of individual patients or their families "accusing" this situation were also released one after another.

This social reaction once again confirms "there's no smoke without fire", because it's hard to say that public opinion "agreed" to fabricate lies about a hospital on such a large scale and with such a level of indignation.

Immediately after the news of the incident appeared in the press and on social networks, the Ministry of Health sent an official dispatch to K Hospital requesting a review and report, but unfortunately, it only stopped at general instructions to "strengthen", "resolutely", "timely overcome" or to appease public opinion.

The press was also not allowed to fully attend the meeting between the Ministry of Health leaders and the K Hospital on the afternoon of August 23, but according to the announcement released afterwards, the meeting did not seem to delve into clarifying the negative feedback from the people, nor did it point out specific solutions for correction. It was still the same general instructions as any other normal meeting.

The above developments show that the Ministry of Health has not yet taken the matter seriously enough. The fact that so many people have simultaneously denounced the negative aspects of K Hospital cannot be considered a small matter.

Although the amount each patient has to pay in the radiation treatment voucher is only 200,000 VND, which the Ministry of Health can consider "odd", the affected people here are the vulnerable - patients with serious illnesses, so from a social ethics perspective, it is a big deal.

Not to mention, according to published data, the daily need for radiotherapy of cancer patients at K Hospital is about more than 2,000 people, of which more than 1,000 people are served. If multiplied by the number of people who accuse of having to "bribe" 200,000 VND/radiation treatment session, the number is not small.

But the biggest story is that this incident shows the dysfunctional way a frontline hospital operates, providing a public service that people have no choice about.

Therefore, the Ministry of Health needs to consider this as an opportunity to rectify attitudes, working style and procedures in the treatment area. The Ministry needs to seriously and frankly assess the issues that people have reported, and it is necessary to immediately inspect negative content; it should not give all the right to verify, clarify and inspect to the hospital, to avoid the situation of "both playing football and blowing the whistle".

"Tai Ong That Ma", in misfortune there is luck, this is a good opportunity for the Ministry of Health to clarify and strictly handle negative issues, protect the reputation of the health sector and protect the image of genuine doctors who are being affected by "bad apples".

Previously, social media was abuzz with a post by Ms. DTT (living in Hoang Liet, Hoang Mai, Hanoi) about the negative aspects at K Hospital. In the clip, this woman cried continuously, claiming that the doctors and nurses at K Hospital, Tam Hiep Branch 2 (Thanh Tri District, Hanoi) "scraped the last coins from the pockets of cancer patients".

Specifically, the person sharing the clip cried and talked about how doctors and nurses at K Hospital, branch 2 (Tam Hiep, Thanh Tri, Hanoi) "squeezed the last coins from cancer patients' pockets"; or "each radiation treatment costs 200,000 VND, if you don't bribe, it will be delayed until next week".

Also in this clip, Ms. T hopes that the leaders of the Ministry of Health will intervene to discipline medical staff and protect patients. Ms. T believes that a similar incident also occurred at K Hospital, Tan Trieu branch 3.

To resolve this issue, K Hospital has sent a report and denunciation of the violation to the management agencies and central and local authorities where the incident occurred. Currently, the case is being handled according to legal procedures to quickly clarify and draw conclusions.

At the same time, the hospital wishes to receive everyone's opinions through the hospital's official information channels: Patient reception department at 03 facilities; Hospital hotline; Suggestion box at hospital departments.

Due to the large number of patients and limited facilities, doctors have had to divide shifts to care for patients. In the near future, to meet the needs of medical examination and treatment, the hospital plans to purchase 4 more radiotherapy machines. At the same time, to reduce the load, the hospital is also stepping up reinforcement work for lower levels.

"In the spirit of openness, we will strictly handle violations in medical examination and treatment activities (if any) and publicly, transparently, and announce them to the mass media," the Director of K Hospital pledged.