Government policy committee discusses age care and affordable medicines

Government policy committee discusses age care and affordable medicines

FILE photo

BANGKOK, 29 June 2018 (NNT) - Kobsak Phutrakul, the minister attached to the Prime Minister's Office, presided over a government policy committee meeting on elderly care, affordable drugs and public emergency services. 

According to Kobsak, the government has created a medicine-for-people project with the aim of providing Thais greater access to affordable and quality medicines. 

The meeting agreed that medicine producers should receive more support and that regulations, set forth by the Comptroller General’s Department regarding Thai innovations, should be revised to exclude medicines to make them more affordable for hospitals. 

The meeting also endorsed a plan to provide care for bed-ridden elderly people as Thailand is slowly becoming an aging society. Senior citizens account for 20% of the entire population. 

As for public emergency services, the meeting believed that the emergency command center 191 should be the only organization responsible for handling public emergencies to make it easier for people to seek help. 

They can report crimes to the center via a mobile application, social media or multimedia messaging. However, the idea will be further discussed with the Royal Thai Police and the Cabinet.

 

-- nnt 2018-06-29