Ho Chi Minh City's largest hospital sees over 10,000 daily patients, packed from dawn

Patients wait to see doctors at Cho Ray Hospital on Sept. 15. Reception counters at the hospital, the largest in southern Vietnam, begin issuing queue numbers at 4:30 a.m., leaving waiting halls packed before doctors started consultations at 6 a.m. Patient volumes at the hospital have jumped sharply since the beginning of this month. Dr. Le Trung Nhan, head of the Outpatient Department, said the facility typically receives 8,000 to 9,000 patient visits per day, with figures exceeding 10,000 on some days such as Sept. 7. Automatic ticket kiosks and reception counters remain heavily frequented, though conditions have eased over the past year following the introduction of an app-based appointment registration system that cuts down on early morning queues. More than 70% of patients now schedule visits in advance via the app, requiring them only to print their queue numbers upon arrival before heading straight to consultation rooms. To help manage the flow, personnel from the hospital's Social Work Department and a team of volunteers, primarily university students, deploy early each morning to guide and support arriving patients. The hospital experiences its heaviest congestion between 7 and 8 a.m., when nearly every walkway becomes jammed with arriving patients and family members. Security personnel and volunteers are stationed throughout the halls, continuously instructing crowds to keep to the side to preserve clear pathways for wheelchairs and priority medical cases. After clearing reception counters, patients move into the payment section, where rows of waiting chairs quickly fill to capacity. While the hospital provides designated seating areas, high patient volumes consistently outstrip available capacity, forcing many people to stand while waiting for their transactions to process. An exhausted patient falls asleep in a crowded waiting hall. Statistics reveal that visitors from other provinces and municipalities make up more than 90% of all visits to the Outpatient Department. This sustained influx is largely fueled by individuals requiring routine check-ups for chronic illnesses, cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and organ transplants. Overall, follow-up examinations account for roughly 60% of all patient traffic. With seating rows completely filled, 65-year-old Thu leaned against a pillar waiting for her turn outside the examination room after an early morning arrival. She reached the hospital at 5 a.m. following a more than four-hour bus journey from Bao Loc in Lam Dong Province near Da Lat, to HCMC. Thu had been experiencing persistent headaches, lightheadedness, dizziness, and numbness in both legs for several months. When local treatment in her hometown yielded no improvement after more than a month, she decided to seek medical attention at Cho Ray, where physicians ordered blood tests, an ultrasound, and a CT scan. Reflecting on changes at the facility, she noted that previous visits years ago involved long, exhausting lines simply to secure a queue number. She credited the hospital's appointment app with streamlining the process, adding that digital bank transfers now eliminate the need to travel with large amounts of cash. Examination rooms fill rapidly from the early morning hours, forcing numerous patients to remain standing due to a shortage of available seating. While formal clinical hours commence at 6 a.m., several physicians and nurses routinely arrive by 5:30 a.m. to handle the incoming caseload. Approximately 150 doctors currently staff outpatient clinics, with each practitioner examining an average of 65 to 80 patients per day. To manage sharp spikes in attendance, the facility sometimes mobilizes additional medical staff from inpatient departments. Outpatient department physicians typically conclude their shifts at 4 p.m., but high caseloads regularly require extended hours. On peak days when patient visits surpass 10,000, doctors and medical personnel stay an extra hour to complete consultations, ensuring that patients from afar can return home the same day. The pharmacy counters face heavy crowding as patients conclude examinations and diagnostic tests, collect their prescribed medications, and exit the facility before midday. Established in 1900, Cho Ray Hospital operates as a special-grade general hospital under the Ministry of Health. The facility functions as the primary tertiary referral center handling severe and complex medical cases referred from provinces and cities throughout southern Vietnam. Source: VnExpress International