A hospital in Ho Chi Minh City is dedicating part of its facility every week to patients in the LGBT community.

This LGBT-friendly clinic is open every Friday afternoon on the sixth floor of the high-tech area of Binh Dan Hospital, located at 408 Dien Bien Phu Street, District 3.

According to Dr. Mai Ba Tien Dung, chief of the infirmary’s andrology department, this is a new idea and is expected to receive positive feedback from the LGBT community.

“Many people in this community still shy away from having their health checked at public hospitals,” Dr. Dung said.

They ended up seeking treatment at private clinics, where quality is not always guaranteed, he continued, adding that others chose not to treat their illnesses at all, which only exacerbates their conditions.

Among members of the LGBT community, transgender people face the highest health risks as their post-surgery complications can be very dangerous if not treated correctly and promptly, Dr. Dung remarked.

This special clinic at Binh Dan is aimed at meeting all demands for healthcare of the LGBT community, the doctor asserted.

Appointments should be made in advance via the phone number 028.6686.1267, he added.

For Boi Nhi, a 22-year-old transgender woman who graduated from the Vocational Ballet School of Ho Chi Minh City, this clinic is everything she has been looking for.

“People like me often face discrimination and refusal when we seek treatment for genital-related illnesses at public hospitals. We eventually have to buy over-the-counter medicines or just let it be,” Nhi elaborated.

Healthcare after surgery is very important but most transgender people can only learn from the experience of other members in their community, she added.

“I still feel blessed that my mother is always on my side. Not many transgender people have such a supportive family,” Nhi said.

Ha Thanh, a transgender man, voiced a similar opinion.

“Many of us have no idea where to come to whenever we suffer a genital condition or STDs. We can neither go to a gynecological clinic nor an adrological one,” Thanh said.

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