The HCM City Oncology Hospital, for instance, will provide free buses for theirpatients who want to return to their hometown to enjoy Tet with their family onJanuary 21. They also will be presented gifts including cash of 1 million VND (43USD), cakes and milk from the hospital.
The hospital’s 100 patients with the most financial difficulty on Tuesdayreceived gifts from Vice President Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh as part of the Ngay MaiTuoi Sang (Bright Future) Fund.
Last week, the hospital and many sponsors organised Xuan Yeu Thuong (LovedSpring) Fair for child patients. At the fair, children played traditionalgames, and enjoyed food and art performances. They were gifted vouchers to buygoods at stalls in the fair.
Dr Pham Xuan Dung, the hospital’s director, said: “The hospital has nearly 200inpatients including children and adults for treatment during Tet. The staffwill organise various programmes for them to enjoy Tet at the hospital.”
One hundred of the poorest cancer patients at Thong Nhat Hospital also receivedgifts from Vice President Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh as part of the Bright FutureFund.
The vice president said that the expertise of doctors and advanced techniquesat hospitals in the country had helped many patients recover from cancer andthat patients at the HCM City Oncology and Thong Nhat hospitals receivedexcellent care.
Duong Thi Sau, 65, of Binh Tan district, who was treated at the hospital andone of 100 patients to receive gifts, said that she was happy with the giftfrom the vice president and hoped to be discharged from the hospital soon toenjoy Tet with her family.
On January 12, at Thu Duc District Hospital’s campus, 500 poor patients wereeager to go to 40 booths to buy rice, clothes, rice cakes, jams and otherswithout paying any đồng at the Phien Cho 0 Dong (Fair with Zero dong) heldannually by the hospital.
At many booths, they were given 20,000 VND as a good luck gift for New Year.They were also offered free haircuts if they wanted.
Dr Nguyen Minh Quan, the hospital’s director, said the fair held twice a yearto help poor patients has expanded to many wards in the district.
Cho Ray Hospital, HCM City’s most crowded hospital, has created a colourfulflower street for patients to enjoy the Tet season.
The 200-metre flower street features nearly 30 mini-scenes decorated withapricot and peach blossoms as well as flowers, ornamental plants and popularsymbols of Tet such as banh chung (square cakes) and watermelons.
Nguyen Tri Thuc, director of the hospital, said that for many Vietnamese, Tetis a special occasion for reunions with family members. Patients and theirrelatives who cannot return home for the Tet holiday can feel the cheerfulspirit of Tet at the hospital.
The floral decorations were designed by health workers at 75 departments andunits of the hospital.
It is scheduled to wrap up on January 28.
Tet gifts for AO victims
Twenty gift packages were presented to Agent Orange (AO)/dioxin victims in Hanoion January 15 ahead of Tet.
Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Van Rinh, Chairman of the Vietnam Associationfor Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin (VAVA), said the programme, the second ofits kind, had received warm support from organisations and individuals at homeand abroad.
He added that from January 1 to 14, the association along with the VietnamAO/dioxin magazine and sponsors, visited and presented Tet gifts worth over 1billion VND (43,200 USD) to more than 1,200 victims across 23 cities andprovinces nationwide./.