Emergency medication at vending machines can only be purchased with Evian water

Location: Shanghai Tenth People's Hospital

Recently, Ms. Wang's grandfather was sent to Shanghai Tenth People's Hospital by 120 emergency department due to a sudden illness. When her grandfather needed to drink water and take medication, Ms. Wang encountered a problem: the only mineral water available in the vending machine was Evian mineral water, with no regular mineral water options, while the former cost 10 yuan per bottle.

Drinking water and taking medication in the hospital should be a simple matter, and many hospitals even have water dispensers and provide free hot water. However, Ms. Wang, who urgently accompanied the patient, was confused and had no idea what to do. She didn't have time to find a drinking water point, so she could only purchase Evian mineral water from the self-service vending machine to save the emergency

She said, "Although I think it's expensive, my grandfather's condition is serious. At that time, the vending machines were filled with carbonated drinks, and the only bottled water was still such a high-end brand. I think hospitals are places that serve the people, and ordinary people should be given priority. Why can't there be more affordable and healthy choices

After learning of the demand, the Tenth Hospital proactively contacted Ms. Wang, stating that they would communicate with the third party responsible for the operation of the unmanned vending machine to meet the needs of different patients and their families, and expressed deep apologies to Ms. Wang. However, after following up with the hospital, the reporter found that the vending machine still only had carbonated drinks and Evian mineral water.

The reporter saw that the drinking water point located on the first floor of the emergency department of the hospital is under maintenance. In the vending machine next to it, in addition to carbonated drinks such as Merida and Coca Cola, it also provides Baishoushan and Evian mineral water. Although there are two bottles of Bai Sui Shan samples in the cabinet, the system shows that they are sold out, and patients or their families can only buy Evian if they want to drink water. The same situation also occurred on the emergency B1 floor and outpatient 1 floor, where all the vending machines in Baishoushan were showing as sold out, but fortunately there were free water points near the container. However, for patients who are not familiar with the hospital situation and cannot find a drinking point, they can only seek help from vending machines if they want to drink water. The reporter called the complaint hotline on the machine regarding this matter, and the other party promised to arrange for replenishment as soon as possible and provide more affordable products in the future.