A group of Vietnamese doctors gave support to a 57-year-old Australian passenger who suffered side effects of a drug overdose on a recent flight en route from Hanoi to Paris.

The doctors are from the University of Medicine and Pharmacy under the Vietnam National University - Hanoi.

Professor Dr. Le Ngoc Thanh, rector of the University of Medicine and Pharmacy, said he and his colleagues were flying to France for a working trip when they faced the situation.

After a flight attendant asked if there was any doctor on the flight, Thanh and his colleagues stepped up to follow the flight attendant to the seat of the patient.

At the time, the passenger suffered shortness of breath and drooped.

There were no devices to diagnose his condition.

The doctors let the passenger lie for monitoring and provided him with oxygen, Thanh recalled.

He added that all of the doctors on the flight were worried for the patient and thought he might sustain a myocardial infarction and needed urgent treatment.

About an hour after departure, the aircraft had a problem and had to return to Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi, offering an opportunity of prompt treatment to the passenger.

After the aircraft landed, the Australian passenger was rushed to K Hospital as recommended by Thanh.

Thanh said he later knew that the passenger suffered side effects of a drug overdose. 

He has recovered and been discharged from the hospital, Thanh added.

The doctor shared that he had been working in the healthcare sector for nearly 40 years and traveling on multiple flights but that was the first time he had provided in-flight assistance for a person.

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