Care in Vietnam Proves Friendly and Sound

My wife Lucie and I had spent months meticulously planning a trip to the South Pacific. Flying from our hometown of Edmonton, Canada, we were to spend two weeks in Vietnam, a few days in Cambodia, and then onto southern Australia for another couple of weeks. Our first stop was Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, where I was due to speak at a medical conference. It was to be a trip of a lifetime…but it didn’t get off to the best start.

As we were getting off the plane in Hanoi, an over-eager passenger came up behind Lucie and her pushed forward, twisting her right knee and tearing a muscle. Then, there was a loud pop…not a good sign. Lucie made it off the plane and we were met by a tour guide, Dai Nguyn of Amazing Vietnam Travel (see: vietnamamazingtours.com) who we had arranged to pick us up at the airport and take us to our hotel.

By the time we got to Dai Nguyen, Lucie was in so much pain that she could no longer put weight on her right leg. He sprang into action and arranged a wheelchair and transportation to the closest private hospital, the Hong Ngoc Hospital (see: hongngochospital.vn). I was devastated, sure that all the months of planning had been for nothing and that we’d have to return home.

Vietnam has private and public healthcare systems. While the public system tends to be underfunded and poorly equipped, and the doctors and medical staff often only speak Vietnamese, the private hospitals are world-class. Many have doctors from Europe and have they state-of-the-art equipment.

Arriving at the Hong Ngoc Hospital, we were faced with about eight steps to get in the entrance. “How are we supposed to get up there?” Lucie wondered. “Don’t worry, we have it under control,” Dai told her, as six tiny Vietnamese helpers put the wheelchair she was in on their shoulders and hoisted my wife through the entrance.

Check-in was easy. The staff took Lucie’s health insurance card, and they immediately put us in the triage room where Lucie was assigned a private nurse. When the doctor arrived, he had a thick European accent, but spoke English so we were able to communicate without any problems. He prescribed a sedative and a pain killer, and Lucie’s pain immediately subsided. The doctor ordered an MRI to check for damage and a possible tap of the knee. The MRI, thankfully, showed no significant damage. And there was no blood in the knee, so the tap was unnecessary. The final diagnosis was a sprained knee.

Then we were ready to go. In all, we were in the hospital for a total of about three hours. The whole experience was smooth and professional. But what really amazed us was the cost. Although our travel insurance covered everything, the entire cost was less than CAD$500 (US$370).

The next day my wife was well enough to go to Ho Chi Minh square in a wheelchair, and in the afternoon, she used crutches. And by the next day, she was able to get around without them.

The rest of our trip was magical. A couple of days after her accident, we saw the Bai Dinh Pagoda, a Buddhist temple on the slope of Dinh Mountain, and there was considerable walking that my wife handled without any hesitation. We also visited the Trang An grottoes, a collection of caves and valleys seen by traditional flatbed Vietnamese boats. I must admit that I had more difficulty getting into the boat than Lucie did.

While our trip didn’t get off to the best start, with help from our guide, my wife’s accident ended up being a little glitch in our travel plans…but one that taught us about the good nature of the Vietnamese people, and the importance of having proper travel insurance whenever you travel abroad.