The Social Work Team in collaboration with the Kidney - Dialysis Department (Bai Chay Hospital) gave gifts to 2 patients who have been undergoing dialysis treatment for many years and are in difficult circumstances at the department.
Bright hearts in the hospital
At 5:30 a.m., when many patients at the Oncology Center (Bai Chay Hospital) were still dozing off in pain, the Hoa Huong Duong volunteer group (Ha Long City) was already there, busy with steaming pots of porridge. Every Tuesday and Thursday, hundreds of free porridge portions are delivered to patients. On Wednesday afternoons, hot lunch boxes are delivered to patients in difficult circumstances.
Some scooped porridge, some packed boxes, some gently carried each portion of porridge into the patient’s room to hand to the patient. These simple actions created a space filled with humanity right in the middle of the hospital, where life and death are always just a hair’s breadth apart.
Ms. Pham Thi Hong Tuoi, Head of the Hoa Huong Duong volunteer group (left) hands free porridge to the patient's family.
Ms. Pham Thi Hong Tuoi, the group leader, is the initiator and directly participates in cooking and delivering food to patients. Ms. Tuoi shared: “I have cherished the idea for a long time and am very happy to receive everyone's support. Regardless of rain or cold wind, the uncles and aunts in the group still do not hesitate to cook porridge and bring rice to the patients.”
From more than a dozen initial members in March 2024, the group now has nearly 200 members. Not only stopping at distributing hundreds of free meals every week, the Sunflower group also mobilizes financial support for disadvantaged patients, donates charity clothes, and members of the group participate in regular voluntary blood donations at Bai Chay Hospital. “Each person has a job, some contribute labor, some contribute money, some spread information. It is the sincerity that creates trust and solidarity among members. Our greatest wish is to share some of the burden with patients who are fighting cancer day and night,” Ms. Tuoi said emotionally.
Members of Quyen Linh salon (Bai Chay ward, Ha Long city) maintain monthly free haircuts for patients being treated at Bai Chay Hospital.
Another special image at Bai Chay Hospital is a free haircut right on the hospital grounds. For over two years, Ms. Nguyen Thu Huong, owner of Quyen Linh salon (Bai Chay ward, Ha Long city) has maintained this program regularly. “Once a month, about 15 of our workers serve 30-40 patients. Even though it is just a haircut, we hope to bring optimism, help them feel beautiful and cared for,” Ms. Huong shared.
Mr. Luong Van Ky (Dam Ha district), a patient who has had his hair cut many times at the hospital, emotionally said: “In the midst of tiring days of treatment, getting a free haircut makes me feel warm. I feel like I am not alone in the fight against the disease.”
Ms. Ly Thi Hanh (patient of the Kidney - Dialysis Department, Bai Chay Hospital) has had to maintain dialysis for 8 years. During the most difficult days, she received help from the hospital's social workers and benefactors, from gifts, words of encouragement to support for hospital fees. "I was once in a deadlock because I did not have enough money for treatment. But thanks to the care of the social workers, I had more determination to overcome the disease," she said, choking up.
In the case of patient Trinh Quoc Huy (47 years old, from Hai Phong ), the Social Work Team of Vietnam - Sweden Uong Bi Hospital made efforts to connect with benefactors to help with treatment costs.
At the Vietnam - Sweden Uong Bi Hospital, from 2013 to present, the model "Humanitarian porridge pot" has been maintained by Ms. Dang Thi Hao (Head of the Red Cross Association of Zone 6, Thanh Son Ward, Uong Bi City) and the members of the association. From 100 porridge portions per week, her group has now distributed 500-700 portions per day. In particular, in 2019, she mobilized to buy a large capacity electric pot, reducing the effort and shortening the time to cook porridge. The form of distributing porridge has also been improved, from using plastic cups to using personal bowls, saving costs and reducing plastic waste to the environment. "For more than 10 years, we have cooked and distributed more than 1.1 million porridge portions with a total cost of over 5.8 billion VND. It's not just a bowl of porridge, it's the humanity shared every day" - Ms. Hao said with emotion.
In April and May 2025, the Social Work Team of the Vietnam - Sweden Uong Bi Hospital made efforts to connect with benefactors to help two patients in particularly difficult circumstances continue to receive treatment and recover. The case of Mr. Trinh Quoc Huy (47 years old, from Hai Phong) is being treated at the Internal Intensive Care Unit of the Hospital after a fall from a height of 3 meters, causing a serious brain injury. As the main breadwinner in a poor family with 5 young children, Mr. Huy is no longer able to work. The cost of treatment outside of insurance has exceeded 50 million VND. And Tran Minh Khanh (12 years old, from Viet Dan commune, Dong Trieu city) is being treated at the Hospital due to a venomous snake bite, his life was in danger. Khanh is mentally disabled, lives with his elderly grandparents, and has a difficult family situation. To save his life, the family had to borrow money to pay for the cost of buying antivenom serum, the amount outside of insurance is about 10 million VND. Thanks to the connection of the Social Work Group, a bridge of humanity has been created, helping patients reduce financial burden and move towards health recovery.
Call for support on Facebook of the Social Work Team, Vietnam - Sweden Uong Bi Hospital
Kind stories are still happening every day in hospitals in Quang Ninh . Although quietly and silently, the cooperation of volunteer groups, compassionate individuals and social workers has contributed significantly to helping patients overcome the pain of illness, adding hope and faith in life.
Love Connection
In Quang Ninh, most hospitals now have established social work teams. These are considered the “bridges” connecting patients, hospitals and the community. They are the ones who silently stand behind each case, supporting patients and their families in their most difficult times.
Ms. Pham Thu Hoai, Head of the Social Work Team, Bai Chay Hospital, has been working in the profession for nearly 10 years, sharing: “We are the first people to welcome patients when they come to the hospital, from guiding the examination process, supporting health insurance procedures, to connecting referrals, finding sources of hospital fee support... Each patient has a different story, some are struggling with illness, some are collapsing because of poverty. We are there, not letting them be alone”.
Hospitals are not just places for physical treatment. For many patients, especially those with cancer, kidney dialysis, mental illness... what they need most is a helping hand to restore their faith. Therefore, the Social Work Team not only works with paperwork or administrative procedures, but also goes deep into each situation, listens and connects each life. In 2024 alone, Bai Chay Hospital supported hospital fees for 11 patients in difficult circumstances, provided dozens of free meals and raised more than 200 million VND from benefactors.
Staff of the Social Work Team, Provincial Mental Health Protection Hospital are talking and understanding the situation of patients being treated at the hospital.
For special patients like those at the Provincial Mental Health Protection Hospital, social work activities become even more meaningful. Ms. Bui Thanh Thuy, a social worker here, said: "In addition to consulting and supporting procedures, the Social Work Team also coordinates to organize many activities for inpatients to interact and integrate. On holidays and Tet, we organize cultural activities, group activities, give gifts... These series of activities not only help patients feel like they are living in the community, but also serve as important mental therapy during the treatment process. We do everything we can so that patients do not feel left behind."
Dr. Bui Tien Dung, Deputy Director of the Hospital emphasized: “We consider social work activities an indispensable part of the treatment system. Counseling, connection, and psychological support help patients and their families accept their illness, integrate into the community, and create comprehensive treatment effectiveness.”
The Social Work Team and Quang Ninh Maritime Port Authority give gifts to disadvantaged patients at the Cardiology Department (Provincial General Hospital), March 2025.
Currently, social work has been clearly defined in the legal system with Decree No. 110/2024/ND-CP of the Government and Circular No. 51/TT-BYT of the Ministry of Health, contributing to standardizing the profession and creating a legal corridor for practitioners. However, there are still many difficulties, lack of specialized human resources, great pressure, unstable socialized resources... In order for social workers not to be alone on the journey of spreading love, they need the companionship of the health sector, authorities at all levels, mass organizations and the community.
In a place where there seems to be only tears and pain, social workers and volunteer groups still light up warm fires every day. They are the ones who hold patients’ hands when they receive bad news, the ones who call to raise money for hospital fees, the ones who silently connect kind hearts to create a loving home right in the middle of the hospital.
Nguyen Hoa
Source: https://baoquangninh.vn/geo-hy-vong-noi-giuong-benh-3360706.html
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