The 'zero-dong' bus trip of the deputy head of the commune health station

When it comes to Thanh Nho, almost everyone in the village knows about nurse Nguyen Van Lam – Deputy Head of the Commune Health Station. For many years, the people here have admired his charity work when he spent hundreds of millions of dong to buy cars to transport patients in difficult circumstances for free.

Nurse Nguyen Van Lam examines a patient. Photo: Thu Huong

Talking about the fate of the "0 dong" bus, Mr. Lam said that in 1994, when he had a primary nursing degree, he started working at the commune health station as a martyr's child. In 1998, he was sent by his superiors to study part-time nursing for 4 years in Vinh city; he graduated in 2002. In order to meet the professional requirements and popularize the degree, in 2017 he continued to study for a nursing college degree at ASEAN Medical and Pharmaceutical College. And since that time, he has been appointed as Deputy Head of Thanh Nho commune health station until now.

During his time working at the Commune Health Station, he personally witnessed many difficult and unfortunate lives in need of help. These were patients with difficult circumstances, whose illnesses had worsened and needed to be transferred to a higher level, but the distance to the hospital was quite far, while there were very few cars. Due to lack of timely emergency care, many patients passed away, leaving behind grief for their relatives and families.

In addition to doing her job well, nurse Lam often supports people in difficult circumstances. Photo: Thu Huong

Having witnessed many critical cases, Mr. Lam still feels remorseful now, he said: “There was a woman who was about to give birth because of placenta accreta, so the fetus could not come out, leading to heavy blood loss. At that time, car transportation was very limited, calling a car took an hour, so it was not possible to save her in time, and the mother did not survive. There was also another case of giving birth, but luckier, she escaped death, that was a woman who went into labor and went to the Commune Health Station to give birth. Here, the staff and nurses at the station helped the mother "give birth" successfully, but the unexpected happened: the placenta still did not come out. Seeing the critical case, the Commune Health Station immediately called an ambulance to take the mother to the District General Hospital; however, it took 1 hour for the ambulance to arrive, fortunately the mother was treated promptly, saving her life. In addition to the above cases, there are many difficult and critical situations that continuously occur in daily life.”

As a medical officer, Mr. Nguyen Van Lam always practices the 12 medical ethics and Uncle Ho's teachings "A good doctor must be like a mother". He himself always thinks about doing something to help society; especially to promptly help those in difficult situations such as childbirth, cancer, kidney dialysis, HIV AIDS... when they are in critical condition. In 2010, Mr. Lam decided to go to school to get a driver's license. In 2012, with his savings and additional loans, he decided to buy a used car worth 350 million VND to travel and transport difficult and critically ill patients who need to be transferred as quickly as possible. With the means, he joined the ambulance team of the Red Cross Society of the commune.

Nurse Nguyen Van Lam next to his "zero-dong" car.Photo: Thu Huong

Doctor Nguyen Thi Hang, working at Thanh Nho Commune Health Station (Thanh Chuong), said: “Since nurse Lam bought a car, he has helped many critical cases to be transferred to higher levels in time. Although he is busy with his work, when he sees a critical case, he is ready to take the patient to the emergency room. Once, he took a pregnant woman with twins with a critical prognosis to the district hospital for emergency treatment, but after a short distance, she unfortunately went into labor in the car. With his responsibility and medical ethics, he supported the pregnant woman until she arrived at the hospital and luckily "mother and child were safe". When talking about this special case, nurse Lam shared with his colleagues that it is a responsibility and sharing that must be done to help patients in difficult times. In life as well as at work, nurse Lam is very sociable and willing to help colleagues."

Nurse Nguyen Van Lam injects Covid-19 vaccine to people. Photo: Thu Huong

In 2020, Mr. Nguyen Van Lam sold his old car and bought a new, larger car worth 700 million VND. At this time, the Covid-19 epidemic was breaking out, Mr. Lam wrote a volunteer application to participate in the prevention and fight against the epidemic by using his car to transport supplies, necessities, patients and people in medical quarantine.

Along with the work of preventing and fighting the epidemic, he volunteered with the “zero-dong” car team to help poor patients without shelter and seriously ill patients go to hospitals in the province for examination and treatment. Up to now, Mr. Lam does not remember how many poor patients he has taken to the hospital on his “zero-dong” car.

Mr. Nguyen Van Tam, a patient undergoing dialysis at Nghe An General Hospital 115, shared: “We are very grateful to Mr. Lam for his enthusiasm in transporting patients from their homes to the hospital for examination and treatment. Although the distance is quite far, he does not charge a single penny. I hope this bus can operate and be maintained regularly so that people in situations like mine can be helped.”

According to Mr. Lam, in order to operate the bus regularly, he received active support from his family and friends, who cheered and encouraged him enthusiastically. That urged him to try to maintain the bus because many people needed it and contributed to sharing the difficulties of the sick.

“Helping poor patients is my greatest happiness because giving is forever. Helping one person is equivalent to building 10 towers and I am trying to do more to help those in difficult circumstances in life,” Mr. Nguyen Van Lam confided.

Mr. Tran Dinh Truyen - Chairman of Thanh Nho Commune People's Committee (Thanh Chuong) said: "Although there are some units and organizations doing charity work in the locality, the work of a dedicated individual like nurse Nguyen Van Lam - Deputy Head of the Commune Health Station is very meaningful and worth encouraging. In addition to his professional work, when patients in need need help, nurse Lam is always willing."