Thanh Hoa investigates 9 million dong ambulance charge for a 16-kilometer trip home

A family paid more than 9 million dong to take a critically ill patient 16 kilometers home, but Thanh Hoa’s Health Department says the vehicle and caregiver involved were not affiliated with the hospital.

The patient, identified as H.B.Đ., 58, had been receiving treatment in the intensive care and toxicology department of Thanh Hoa General Hospital. His condition was very serious and he was responding poorly to treatment. After a consultation on Aug. 14, doctors explained his condition and prognosis. His family then requested that he be taken home, signed a commitment and completed discharge procedures.

The department’s initial review found that the family had contacted an outside transport provider. Hospital records showed no basis to conclude that the treating staff had advised the family to use a specific service. However, the family reported that a person in a white coat appeared in the hospital room, claimed to be a hospital employee and recommended a hospital vehicle. The family said it agreed to the transport because it trusted that representation.

The department contacted the provider using a telephone number supplied by the family but could not reach anyone. It later learned that people connected to the case were working with police. The department said it could not yet verify the provider’s operating conditions or its relationship with the other parties.

The review also found no evidence in the medical records that the hospital supplied or ordered the vasopressor used in the vehicle. The drug’s identity, quantity, source, provider, prescriber, user, price and amount paid remain unverified. The department likewise lacks sufficient documents to determine the individual transport charges or who collected the money. It has ordered the hospital to repair its surveillance-camera system while the inquiry continues.