An ambulance is surrounded by vehicles at a roundabout in District 1.

An ambulance driver in Ho Chi Minh City feels guilty about the death of a patient in District 12 who died before he reached the house.

The reason for the late arrival was traffic caused by the street barriers that have been put up on many streets for a major urban water drainage project.

Ton That Quynh Ai of Cho Ray Hospital in District 5 says every second counts for saving lives in emergency cases, especially for patients suffering a stroke, hemorrhage or brain injuries.

“Many patients are admitted to the hospital in very serious condition. The ambulance driver and relatives of the patients always say it had taken a long time to drive through streets with barriers.”

Le Dien Nhi of Trung Vuong Emergency Hospital in District 10 says he used to wish for private lanes for ambulances when the traffic became worse several years ago. But his wish has receded from reality as the street barriers went up.

“I wish the construction would be completed soon so ambulances could save crucial time taking patients to hospitals,” he said.

Late last month, the city’s Transport Department upped the street barrier count to 100 kilometers. This was after a department announcement late last year said 56 kilometers of city streets would be dug up in 2009, and revised it early last month to 75.4 kilometers.

The street barriers, typically standing for much longer than their original schedules due to delayed projects, have become a contentious issue for the public who have to suffer severe traffic congestion every day.

Terrified drivers

A Thanh Nien reporter who accompanied an ambulance from Trung Vuong Emergency Hospital last Saturday found the driver had to use considerable time on a detour to a medical center in District 8 to transfer a patient with appendicitis.

The vehicle had to drive on the sidewalk of Ly Thuong Kiet Street outside the hospital as a major part of the street was occupied by barriers.

After taking the patient, the ambulance rushed back before getting stuck in a gridlock on Ly Thuong Kiet Street, just hundreds of meters from the hospital. It had to take a long way around to avoid that gridlock again.

“The whole trip took 35 minutes instead of 15, because of the barriers,” the driver said. “We were lucky to face only two barriers during this trip. I’ve had to suffer several more barriers on other trips.”

Tran Van Nghia, who has been an ambulance driver at Trung Vuong Emergency Hospital for 29 years, said he and his colleagues used to be afraid of trips during rush hours. Now, their fear has spread to all hours as gridlock can occur at anytime.

“We are surrounded by motorbikes and cars squeezing through street sections with barriers,” he said. “No one makes space for ambulances anymore because they have no space to do so.”

Many ambulance drivers said they had learned which streets had barriers but had no other choice than having to drive through.

“It’s a terrible experience to drive from the hospital to Tan Binh District as well as Truong Chinh, Dien Bien Phu and Phan Dang Luu streets,” one driver said.

Le Vu Chien said he had to take detours many times for just one trip after finding new barriers being constructed.

Frustrated patients’ relatives

Nghia said a relative of a patient in District 12 was on the verge of attacking doctors after the patient fell into critical condition while being taken to the Trung Vuong Emergency Hospital.

Earlier, the traffic caused by barriers on the streets of Truong Chinh and Cach Mang Thang Tam had slowed down the emergency trip by around 20 minutes longer than usual.

In another case, relatives of a patient on Pham Van Hai Street in Tan Binh District had to take the patient to the hospital by themselves after the ambulance failed to arrive.

The ambulance, which was dispatched to take the patient, had to take a detour three kilometers long to reach the place.

Irate relatives held back the ambulance and allowed it to return only after venting their anger.

Reported by Thanh Tung – Hoai Nam