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Related articles about health issues : Hospitals in Bangkok | Dental Services | Eye Clinics | Pharmacies | Shortcomings of Thai Healthcare (this page)
This report comprises 4 pages. Hopefully you can benefit by scanning them all.
Page 1 - Page 2 (this page) - Page 3 - Page 4
3) Adequate emergency transport facilities are not yet fully developed
Large hospitals do have mobile intensive care unit in which, if you had a heart attack or other major emergency, you could be treated immediately. However, it is rare to see emergency vehicles racing through the streets of Bangkok. Traffic accidents seem to be attended to (they are the first to be on the scene, usually by pick-up truck) by volunteer organizations, which surely offer better help than random passers-by, but can not be expected to provide safe and optimal trauma medicine.
The English version of Thailand YellowPages list the number 1669 as the number to call for a medical emergency. We have not seen any recent reports on how this service functions or how effective it operates.
The main obstacle for emergency transport is the Bangkok traffic. Unless you are in very close proximity to a suitable hospital, unwarranted delays can hardly be avoided.
Cars do not even give way easily, if you happen to be transported by an ambulance.
For some ailments, urgent treatment is essential for long-term benefits. Like in a heart attack, treatment given within minutes or the first hour, may save your life, or allow you to lead a normal life afterwards, as compared to death and disability. So, people prone to medical emergencies, should simple try to have a hotel, or live very close to a suitable hospital.
We could expand on this : How can emergency medicine develop if their are no emergencies arriving at the hospital? We recently reviewed treatments for acute coronary conditions (heart attacks) and noticed various interventions are suggested right away. Now, just think how that would go in Bangkok. Will there be a cardiologist waiting and ready to go when you arrive at the emergency room?
Having a set-up to threat various stable or controlled conditions is one thing, being capable in emergency medicine is another. Since development of emergency medicine would rely on easy access to hospitals at most times, and the availability of organized ambulances (that bring you to the most suitable and closest hospital), there is little chance of it coming to Thailand anytime soon.
From all we hear, for traffic accidents, the Police Hospital at Ratchaprasong Intersection, is the best. [and in the provinces, the military or police hospitals]
4) Money is very important
Fortunately, most Westerners will have obligatory insurance, or will be assumed to have a medical insurance. Still, you better have the cash or credit card ready, or at least pertinent medical insurance documents. In case of admission to hospital, you may be asked to pay up front for your treatment. We remember stories appearing in Thai newspapers, of Thai people being turned down when arriving at a private hospital, only to get into trouble on their way to a government sponsored hospital, because they can not show the money. This is a major ethical flaw in the health care system in Thailand. Although admission and general treatment in the hospitals is otherwise quite pleasant, asking for money up front in the way done, feels inappropriate and impolite to say the least.
In European contries this kind of problem is mostly avoided, since patients will all have obligatory medical insurance, and the hospitals will be more confident about getting paid.
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Bumrungrad Hospital features a McDonald's. After loading up on cholesterol and trans-fatty acids, you can conveniently go to the medical clinic nearby to get a prescription for cholesterol-lowering drugs. |
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Next page : Language issues ; the pitfalls of being assertive ; lack of nursing staff and reliance on family assistance in hospital.
Shortcomings in the Thai health care system : Page 1 - Page 2 (this page) - Page 3 - Page 4
Related articles about health issues : Hospitals in Bangkok | Dental Services | Eye Clinics | Pharmacies | Shortcomings of Thai Healthcare (this page)
More : Health Statistics | Cost of Medical Treatment in Thailand | Medical Tourism in Thailand
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