The shenanigans of illegal brokers in front of hospitals in Ho Chi Minh City have been exposed repeatedly by the media for years, but they continue operating with impunity, trapping hapless patients in many dubious schemes.

A broker talks to a patient in front of the Hospital of Dermatology. Despite repeated media exposés, they continue to offer patients dubious services outside major public hospitals.

One of the country’s leading obstetrics hospital, the Tu Du Hospital in District 1, has for long been a base for brokers to target women with undesired pregnancies, especially those who are still young and unmarried.

In fact, in recent letters to Thanh Nien, readers have said that when they go to the hospital for checkups, the brokers strongly try to persuade them to go to Hospital No.321 instead.

The hospital, supposedly run by the chief of Tu Du’s family planning department, mainly offers abortion services at between VND700,000-1 million (US$35.93- 51.33), a broker told Thanh Nien reporters.

All the services are conducted quickly, and doctors can conduct abortions however advanced the pregnancy is, the broker assured us.

However, our enquiries found that Hospital No.321 was in fact a clinic just four meters wide on Cach Mang Thang Tam Street in District 10.

Dr. Duong Phuong Mai, chief of Tu Du’s Family Planning Department, said she has been in the position for ten years and has never run a clinic on Cach Mang Thang Tam Street.

“Someone must have lied [about her running the hospital] to cheat patients,” Mai said.

Meanwhile, Dr. Nguyen Van Nguyen, deputy chief of District 10’s health division, said the hospital was registered under the name of a doctor named Diem, who had long retired from practicing.

A similar trick is deployed by brokers in front of the Hospital of Dermatology.

At an intersection in front of the hospital located in District 3, brokers convince patients to go a clinic on the opposite side, saying the doctor there also works for the hospital, but they will not have to wait as long because it is not be as crowded.

Some brokers introduce patients to other clinics on Nguyen Thong and Ba Huyen Thanh Quan streets in District 3, promising that their diseases will be treated well.

At the Tumor Hospital in Binh Thanh District, Thanh Nien reporters found brokers offering two services: helping patients get check-ups without the long waits at the hospital with the help of health workers, and introducing them to a nearby private clinic.

They would charge between VND300,000-400,000 ($15.04-20.53) for their services, while earning unspecified brokerage fees paid by private clinics for introducing patients.

Some brokers offer to take patients to a private clinic for ultrasound scans which later would be given to the hospital’s health workers and finally analyzed by doctors there.

Phan Thanh Hai, director of Medic Medical Center, said his center is usually crowded with patients, especially from other provinces, so brokers tend to gather there.

They would offer to help patients get their check-ups at the center, and then hold on to their prescriptions, forcing them to buy medicines at particular drugstores, he said.

They also convince patients to take quick check-ups at other clinics saying that the center’s doctors are too busy with too many patients, he said, adding some even posed as doctors themselves to cheat patients.

In an interview with Thanh Nien, Dr. Le Hoang Minh, director of the Tumor Hospital, said they have warned their health workers and doctors repeatedly not to join hands with illegal brokers, which has improved the situation has over the past few years.

However, brokers are still causing a mess outside, which is a headache for the hospital, but they have no authority to intervene, Minh said.

“We have asked local police for help many times, but every thing is still the same; perhaps we have to turn to the city’s police,” he said.

Vu Hong Thai, director of the Hospital of Dermatology, also said his hospital cannot deal with the brokers, adding only police have the authority to deal with what happens outside the hospital’s premises.

“All we can do is to advise patients not to listen to brokers, telling them they would lose money but gain nothing,” and in fact, “could suffer from worsened health conditions because of treatment of dubious quality,” Thai said.

Agreeing with his counterparts, Hai of the Medic Medical Center urged local authorities to take bold measures to deal with brokers and prevent them from cheating patients.