Vietnam Travel – Page 6 – A Bus On A Dusty Road

Needing emergency medical care in a foreign country can be a terrifying thing. If you require medical care in Hanoi, Vietnam, you have several places you can go to get the emergency medical help you need. In Hanoi, Vietnam, several clinics and hospitals offer international standard medical care. They include the Raffles Medical Clinic, Family Medical Practice, Hanoi-French Hospital, or VinMec International Hospital. These are considered international standard medical facilities, and they can help you with your medical needs in Hanoi, Vietnam. Before you to go to any of these clinics there are a few things you need to understand: Have your insurance card or credit card ready - Hospitals and clinics in Vietnam will generally first ask you for your insurance or credit card information. Then they will check that information before helping you unless it is a life-threatening life and death emergency. So have this ready for them to validate when you come into their clinic or hospital. Also, having a copy of your passport would be good. Both the Family Medical Practice and Raffles Medical Clinic have ambulances. But even if they have ambulances, it may be easier to take a taxi to the hospital if it is a medical emergency. Even with ambulance sirens and lights flashing, most Hanoi drivers do not get off the road or move to the side of the road so the ambulance can pass. It is common to see an ambulance with the lights, and sirens flashing also stuck in traffic. They will send you home with your X-rays and reports - In Vietnam, when you get an X-ray, the hospital will send you home with the X-ray; the hospital will not keep it. Of course, this is very good if you are traveling and you want to show your doctor in your home country about an injury, an X-ray, or even blood work or your medical report. They will give you all this to take with you. If you do not get these things for some reason, you can ask them to give it to you. Here is some information on each of these clinics or hospitals: Raffles Medical Clinic - Hanoi Address - Hanoi City, 51 Xuân Diệu, Quảng An, Tây Hồ, Hà Nội 700000, Vietnam Tel: 02439340666 – 02436762222 (24/7 Emergency Care) Email: hanoi_reception@rafflesmedical.com The Raffles Medical Clinic used to be the SOS Clinic in Hanoi, but recently it changed to the Raffles group. It is located in the heart of Tay Ho, or the Westlake area of Hanoi. So if you are staying in that area or close to that area, it is quite easy to get to the Raffles Medical Clinic. Raffles is a Singapore based group, but they have offices throughout all of Asia. Besides their clinic in Hanoi, they also have clinics in Ho Chi Minh and Vung Tau, Vietnam. They also have some western-trained doctors. They are usually open from 8 am to 8 pm every day, but they also provide support for 24 hours of emergency care. Their doctors and nurses all speak English. Some of their doctors are foreign doctors, and some are Vietnamese. If I have an earache, infection, or another kind of medical need, I will go there. When I broke my ankle a few years ago in a motorbike accident, I first went to the Raffles Medical Clinic, where they X-rayed my ankle. They determined the break was serious, so they put me in an ambulance and sent me to the Hanoi- French Hospital. The Raffles Medical clinic is located behind the Syrena Center on Xuan Dieu Road. You can follow the Raffles Medical signs that will show you to go down the ramp behind the Syrena Center to get to the Raffles Medical clinic. You can also show the security guards at the Syrena Center, the Raffles Medical clinic's address and name, and they can point you in the right direction. Family Medical Practice - Hanoi Address - 298 I Kim Ma Street, Van Phuc Compound, Ba Dinh District, Hanoi, Vietnam Tel: +84 24 3843 0748Fax: +84 24 3846 1750 Email: hanoi@vietnammedicalpractice.com Family Medical Practice Emergency Number: (024) 3843 0748 (24/7 Emergency Care) The Family Medical Practice Clinic has been in Hanoi for many years, and they have a very nice facility that is not too far from the DaeWoo Hotel or the Lotte Centre. The Family Medical Practice also has full-service clinics in Ho Chi Minh and Danang. Their facility is a bit larger than the Raffles Medical clinic, and they also have a lot more western doctors and specialists. I have gone to them to see some of their specialists and get my annual medical check-up. I found them to be excellent and competent. Their normal operating hours are Monday to Friday from 8:30 am to 5:30 pm and Saturday from 8:30 am to 12:30 pm. They give 24-hour emergency care. One of the drawbacks of going to visit them for my medical needs is that the Raffles Medical Clinic is only 5 mins from my home, whereas the Family Medical clinic is over 30 minutes. But if you are staying downtown or in another part of Hanoi, going to the Family Medical Practice and the Raffles Medical clinic may be about the same time and distance. If you are looking for foreign doctors or specialists to help you, this would be the clinic to visit. Hanoi - French Hospital Address - 01 Phuong Mai Street, Dong Da District, Hanoi, Vietnam. Emergency Hotline Hanoi- French Hospital: (84-24) 3574 1111 Hanoi-French Hosptial Tel: (84-24) 3577 1100 Email: contact@hfh.com.vn The Hanoi- French Hospital has been established for quite some time, and they have quite a few foreign and Vietnamese doctors, including many doctors that are French-trained. When I had my motorbike accident, I went to Hanoi- French Hospital and had 7 screws and a plate put into my ankle. The doctor there did an amazing job to repair my ankle. I found the doctors and nurses extremely good, and my hospital care, including the follow up care, was also very good. One of the only drawbacks I have had the Hanoi- French Hostial is that they schedule in and out many French Doctors from French Hospitals, and I do not speak any French. Some of these French doctors did not speak excellent English, so we had difficulty communicating, though the hospital provided translation services. The lack of fully communicating with your health care provider can happen in almost any hospital in Vietnam. VinMec International Hospital - Hanoi Address - 458 Minh Khai, Hai Ba Trung, Hanoi Telephone - 0243 9743 556 VinMec International Hospital is one of the newest private hospitals in Hanoi. When I have needed certain medical equipment for my annual health check that the clinics did not have, they sent me to the VinMec International Hospital. The VinMec International Hospital has some very good facilities and some excellent state-of-the-art equipment. There are 4 VinMec International Hospitals in Vietnam. Besides the one in Hanoi, there is a hospital in Ho Chi Minh, Da Nang, and Nha Trang, Vietnam. Like the Hanoi-French Hospital, the VinMec International Hospital also has a mixture of some foreign and highly skilled Vietnamese doctors. Also, like the Hanoi- French Hospital, many of the Vietnamese doctors have been trained overseas. When I was at the VinMec International Hospital, the language was a bit of a barrier for me as my Vietnamese is not very good. But they also had staff that could speak English and helps with the translation. If you need medical attention during your visit to Hanoi, Vietnam, you have several choices of where you can go to get western standard medical care. You can choose to go to the Raffles Medical Clinic, the Family Medical Practice, Hanoi- French Hospital, or the VinMec International Hospital. Any of these clinics or hospitals should be able to help you with your medical needs. Related Questions What if I get sick or hurt in another part of North Vietnam as Sapa or Ha Long Bay? If you get hurt in another part of North Vietnam, your best choice would be to try to get to a local clinic that can help you as much as they can. But I have personally heard about some of the hospitals in those locations and how their medical team has terribly misdiagnosed illnesses. I know of people that were told they had an infection and given antibiotics when they went home and came back months later with cancer having spread all over their bodies. One problem is the small hospitals in this kind of way do not the level of medical care as you can find in these International standard facilities in Hanoi. Because of this, I would get myself down to one of these international medical facilities in Hanoi as soon as possible. What if I need to find a dentist or need dental care in Hanoi, Vietnam? A lot of the hospitals and clinics in Hanoi also have dentists. But there are two very good clinics that many expats go to and I have used both of these clinics. They are: Peace Dental - Dr. Frederick Abel - Dr. Abel has been my dentist for many years. He is a highly trained and skilled American Dentist. His clinic is located at 15 Thai Phien, Ha Bai Trung, Hanoi, or you can call them at +84 2437 152 286 and +84 904 483 511 or email them at dental@peaceclinic.vnWestcoast Dental - The Westcoast Dental Clinic also has a lot of International Dentists. They have two clinics in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam. They are located at 2nd Fl., Syrena Center 51 Xuan Dieu, Tay Ho District, Quang An, Tay Ho, Hanoi, or you can call them at +84 59 928 5151 or email them at westlake@westcoastinternational.com