The urban disorder in front of hospitals in Vinh City has not been thoroughly handled.

Rampant violations

Present at Nghe An General Friendship Hospital - the largest hospital in the province in early March 2023, reporters recorded a chaotic situation, loss of traffic safety, and loss of security and order at the main gate area that regularly occurred. Here, the sidewalks and roads were covered with tarps, tables and chairs, and occupied by vendors as business and trading spots. Taxi and motorbike taxi drivers also stopped and parked their vehicles blocking the entrances and exits, continuously soliciting patients and residents, creating a chaotic and sloppy scene in front of the hospital.

Rampant sidewalk encroachment in front of Nghe An General Hospital. Photo: QA

This situation of occupying the sidewalk and road in front of the hospital gate occurs commonly during rush hours, especially in the evening. Around 4-5 pm every day, small traders and street vendors pull their carts and block the road. It is worth mentioning that Le Nin Avenue is the gateway to Vinh City, with a very large volume of traffic, and the risk of traffic accidents can occur at any time.

Mr. Nguyen Van Canh, Hung Hoa Commune, Vinh City said: “In early March, I took care of a sick relative at Nghe An General Hospital. Every time I passed the intersection between Le Nin Avenue and Ho Tong Thoc, my heart skipped a beat because people were occupying the sidewalks and roads, causing traffic chaos…”.

Chaotic and dangerous traffic in front of Nghe An General Hospital. Photo: QA

The same situation of urban unsightliness also occurs on the sidewalk of Nguyen Phong Sac Street, Hung Dung Ward, in front of Nghe An Oncology Hospital and Nghe An Orthopedic Trauma Hospital. The entire sidewalk in this area is occupied by people, who put up tents to sell food and drinks, and street vendors stretch for dozens of meters. Pedestrians have to walk on the road to make way for illegal businesses.

Tents cover the sidewalk in front of Nghe An Orthopedic Trauma Hospital. Photo: QA

In front of the gate of Nghe An Obstetrics and Pediatrics Hospital, makeshift tents were also set up at the entrances, displaying all kinds of goods. Ton That Tung Street, Hung Dung Ward, during rush hour, is always congested because cars are parked on both sides of the road within a radius of about 100 meters around the hospital. The chaotic situation also occurs at many other hospitals in Vinh City such as Vinh City General Hospital, Vinh International Hospital, Hospital 115, etc.

Need many synchronized solutions

In reality, the situation of occupying sidewalks and roadsides in front of hospitals is not new but is always hot because it affects security, order, urban beauty and the environment. In the past, the functional forces of Vinh City and wards and communes have also organized many campaigns to clear the area, but the handling has not been thorough, there is no regular maintenance, the handling measures are not drastic, causing the situation of re-occupation to occur continuously.

Vinh City authorities fined vendors who occupied the sidewalk in front of Nghe An General Hospital. However, re-occupation occurs frequently. Photo: QA

Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Khanh - Chairman of the People's Committee of Hung Dung Ward, a locality with many hospitals, said: "Occupying sidewalks and roadsides for business is against regulations, and the ward will resolutely handle it. Recently, the ward's functional forces have regularly coordinated with the Urban Order Management Team and the city police to clear the corridors at these locations. However, in reality, when there are no functional forces, small traders come out to reoccupy..."

According to the reporter's investigation, according to regulations, acts of encroachment on sidewalks and roadsides affecting traffic and urban order have different levels of penalties according to Decree 100/2019. Accordingly, street vending has a fine of 100,000 - 200,000 VND; erecting illegal barriers from 500,000 - 1,000,000 VND; erecting tents, stalls... has a fine of 2,000,000 - 3,000,000 VND (the above violations apply to individuals, if the organization, the penalty is doubled)...

The light penalties are one of the reasons why the problem of appropriation has not been thoroughly resolved. Photo: QA

In fact, the most common violations in front of hospitals are street vendors and pushcart vendors, with fines ranging from 100,000 to 200,000 VND, which is still not enough of a deterrent. Due to high profits and relatively low fines, many vendors, despite knowing they are wrong, still deliberately re-occupy the sidewalk many times.

Discussing this issue, Mr. Le Sy Chien - Vice Chairman of Vinh City People's Committee said: Regarding the chaos in front of the hospital gates, the city has directed functional forces including the Order Management Team, City Police, the Rapid Response Team and the wards and communes to coordinate and deploy regularly. However, to resolve this situation, there must be synchronous and long-term measures, because the traders operate spontaneously, so thoroughly handling it will encounter many difficulties. In the coming time, the city will increase patrols, set up duty points in front of hospitals to strictly handle this situation, especially the traders who reoccupy many times.

Vinh City has issued a document proposing to open the back gate of the hospital to facilitate activities and services, reducing pressure on the frontage of Lenin Avenue. Photo: QA

Regarding the front gate of Nghe An General Hospital - the most complicated occupation point, Vinh City leaders said that the city has organized a meeting with the hospital to discuss solutions. Accordingly, the hospital needs to upgrade the quality and services, especially food and beverage, and prices of goods suitable for patients and their relatives to shop in the hospital, minimizing going out to shop. This will greatly reduce the chaos in front of the gate.

Corridor clearance needs to be maintained continuously and regularly. Photo: QA

On March 8, 2023, Vinh City People's Committee continued to issue Official Dispatch No. 1051/UBND-QLDT to Nghe An Provincial People's Committee and Nghe An Department of Health, proposing to consider directing Nghe An General Hospital to open an additional back gate (West) as an exit of the hospital for relatives to take care of patients, reducing pressure on the frontage of Le Nin Avenue. At the same time, renovate and upgrade the quality and utilities of auxiliary services inside the hospital, limiting the need to arise outside. The hospital also needs to actively coordinate and support the functional forces of Vinh City People's Committee and Nghi Phu Commune People's Committee in the process of inspecting and handling business, encroachment on roads, sidewalks and environmental sanitation in front of the hospital gate./.