Thailand’s hospitals and ‘hospitels’ half full again as COVID-19 continues to spread

[webfact]

(Photo courtesy of Ramathibodi hospital)

 

Almost half of the beds in general hospitals and ‘hospitels’ nationwide are now occupied, as the Medical Services Department urges cooperation from those with asymptomatic and mild COVID-19 infections by getting treated at home or in community isolation facilities, to free up hospital beds for serious cases.

 

Of the 174,029 beds in general hospitals and ‘hospitels’ throughout the country, with the exception of Bangkok, 80,756 are occupied. In Bangkok, 25,359 of the 55,369 beds are occupied. In some provinces, such as Nakhon Ratchasima, hospital beds designated for “green” patients are fully occupied, according to Dr. Somsak Akksilp, head of the Medical Services Department.

 

He also said that there are more cases of diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease and gastrointestinal bleeding developing among those originally diagnosed as asymptomatic and who now need hospital beds.

 

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Full story: https://www.thaipbsworld.com/thailands-hospitals-and-hospitels-half-full-again-as-covid-19-continues-to-spread/

 

-- © Copyright Thai PBS 2022-02-21

 

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[daveAustin]

As many shouldn’t even be in there, not surprised. Some serious change of policy needed. 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

AFAIK, the stats in the OP report here are pretty much unimportant.

 

What matters more in the current pandemic situation is the occupancy rate of hospitals' COVID isolation beds, of which there are vastly fewer, and not so much general purpose beds that aren't suitable for COVID patients.

 

It's also worth noting that none of the recent Thai news reports on the hospital occupancy rates have made any mention at all of their current occupancy rate for COVID isolation beds, which is the first thing you'd want to know in this situation.

 

 

 

 

[Henk Langeweg]

As long as the hospital and the hospitels not become a hospice then it's just sit and wait ... 

[Kiwithl]

As the word hospitel is used frequently, along with hospital, even in the same article, they must be different things. Until very recently I had never heard of or seen a hospitel. Anyone got an English dictionary handy, please?

[PadPrikKhing]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

He also said that there are more cases of diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease and gastrointestinal bleeding developing among those originally diagnosed as asymptomatic

Hold on a minute here... I don't know about GI bleeding, but diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease don't just develop in a week or two. I suspect these things were already present and COVID made them flare up, or something.

[mrfill]

21 minutes ago, Kiwithl said:

As the word hospitel is used frequently, along with hospital, even in the same article, they must be different things. Until very recently I had never heard of or seen a hospitel. Anyone got an English dictionary handy, please?

Its a portmanteau (like brunch)

hospital + hotel

[bkk6060]

18 minutes ago, PadPrikKhing said:

Hold on a minute here... I don't know about GI bleeding, but diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease don't just develop in a week or two. I suspect these things were already present and COVID made them flare up, or something.

They were in remission?  The virus woke them up?

[Thaiophil]

If only half of the beds are occupied, then they have too many beds!

 

The increasingly unconvincing attempts by the media and some doctors to fearmonger based on confected stats is getting old.

 

Virtually everyone in Thailand has had Omicron or knows somebody who has and very very few get ill. Time to scrap the daft restrictions and get on with life????

[jacko45k]

1 minute ago, Thaiophil said:

Virtually everyone in Thailand has had Omicron or knows somebody who has and very very few get ill. Time to scrap the daft restrictions and get on with life????

Is the emoticon meant to reflect the fact this statement is complete nonsense?

[tandor]

5 hours ago, daveAustin said:

As many shouldn’t even be in there, not surprised. Some serious change of policy needed. 

i dare say a huge percentage have never received any vaccine shots..there is nowhere in the article where it states this.

[Henk Langeweg]

1 hour ago, Kiwithl said:

As the word hospitel is used frequently, along with hospital, even in the same article, they must be different things. Until very recently I had never heard of or seen a hospitel. Anyone got an English dictionary handy, please?

Hotels function as Hospital covid backup.

[hotchilli]

6 hours ago, webfact said:

He also said that there are more cases of diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease and gastrointestinal bleeding developing among those originally diagnosed as asymptomatic and who now need hospital beds.

So the underlying health issues of thousands of locals seems to be compounding the Omicron infection, which in normal circumstances should be able to be treated at home?

Maybe this should be looked at differently if these people are so vulnerable?

[hotchilli]

1 hour ago, Kiwithl said:

As the word hospitel is used frequently, along with hospital, even in the same article, they must be different things. Until very recently I had never heard of or seen a hospitel. Anyone got an English dictionary handy, please?

A hospitel is somewhere you are sent when you don't need to be in a hospital but still need your ar*se pocket emptying?

[Thaiophil]

2 hours ago, jacko45k said:

Is the emoticon meant to reflect the fact this statement is complete nonsense?

The emoticon is appended to a sentence which is very clearly an opinion not statement

 

But if you want to make the case for keeping restrictions despite the minimal rates of serious illness go ahead

[mikebell]

3 hours ago, Kiwithl said:

As the word hospitel is used frequently, along with hospital, even in the same article, they must be different things. Until very recently I had never heard of or seen a hospitel. Anyone got an English dictionary handy, please?

Hospitel is a made-up word meaning a place where all and sundry can be accommodated forcibly to be scammed financially for the benefit of local big-wigs.

[tomyami]

The severe delta variant is gone open and live like other countries, a plan to even do that will make covid disappear normality is good every day i see less and less masks i keep asking were we mad...

[NanaSomchai]

17 minutes ago, tomyami said:

i keep asking were we mad...

Ask Pfizer.

[internationalism]

what about all field hospitals, which suppose to be kept preserved for the future out brakes?

not as comfortable, as hospitels, but much cheaper to run. They were free to thai citizens.

With new regulations coming in from the 1 March, thai citizens will have to pay for hospitels, because their symptoms are not severe and hence not covered anymore by the health system

 

[metisdead]

A post with a link to a trolling video has been removed. 

[keithkarmann]

4 hours ago, Kiwithl said:

As the word hospitel is used frequently, along with hospital, even in the same article, they must be different things. Until very recently I had never heard of or seen a hospitel. Anyone got an English dictionary handy, please?

I was thinking the same.

[soi3eddie]

9 hours ago, webfact said:

He also said that there are more cases of diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease and gastrointestinal bleeding developing among those originally diagnosed as asymptomatic and who now need hospital beds.

So does this means that they are actually suffering from something else and it's not Covid that is the root cause of their health issues? Filed as due to Covid anyway to keep the numbers high and scare the populace into accepting further control measure and restrictions. 

 

[jacko45k]

2 hours ago, Thaiophil said:

The emoticon is appended to a sentence which is very clearly an opinion not statement

 

But if you want to make the case for keeping restrictions despite the minimal rates of serious illness go ahead

You claim virtually everyone in Thailand has had omicron (and add the weasel phrase 'or knows someone who has').....that is not the case, omicron is never identified here and the statement is off. Perhaps Thailand should wait until cases start to fall... like most other countries did! 

[AgentSmith]

17 minutes ago, jacko45k said:

 

 

I wonder how long this hospitel madness keeps going. I've been advising friends and family to not come to Thailand for some time now. My otherwise very good European insurance covers me for unlimited medical costs worldwide but of course they don't see asymptomatic hospitalization as medical costs and thus I'm at risk here of getting a rather large bill and there's not much I can do about it. I won't ever get tested somewhere, that's for sure, unless I feel really sick and need medical aid. Since I won't be applying for some foggy Thai policy I guess I'm out of options here. I hope they change their policy but I worry that before the next pandemic hits they won't change a thing here. I really do wonder where the current Thai policy comes from though. What makes people here believe it contributes to a healthier population when very few other countries do the same?

 

28 minutes ago, jacko45k said:

You claim virtually everyone in Thailand has had omicron (and add the weasel phrase 'or knows someone who has').....that is not the case, omicron is never identified here and the statement is off. Perhaps Thailand should wait until cases start to fall... like most other countries did! 

What are you talking about? Omicron reached 50% of all new covid cases in Thailand early January. What makes you think Thailand is impervious to the currently most contagious variant?

[jacko45k]

1 minute ago, AgentSmith said:

 

What are you talking about? Omicron reached 50% of all new covid cases in Thailand early January. What makes you think Thailand is impervious to the currently most contagious variant?

Most tests are RAT which cannot identify omicron. There are very few of those too. So you claim now 50% of new cases are omicron from your unknown source. Perhaps more, so 9000/day.....long way to go yet, ten more years. 

[Thaiophil]

1 hour ago, jacko45k said:

You claim virtually everyone in Thailand has had omicron (and add the weasel phrase 'or knows someone who has').....that is not the case, omicron is never identified here and the statement is off. Perhaps Thailand should wait until cases start to fall... like most other countries did! 

Not a weasel phrase, but an integral part of what I said to avoid exaggeration.

 

Based on the arrival date of Omicron in Thailand and assuming a similar R rate to Europe, I stand by my estimate

[jacko45k]

Just now, Thaiophil said:

Not a weasel phrase, but an integral part of what I said to avoid exaggeration.

 

Based on the arrival date of Omicron in Thailand and assuming a similar R rate to Europe, I stand by my estimate

The surprising thing to me is it took so long to take off.... I expected it to be in January... 

I have had 1 single friend claim to have had omicron, but when I queried him, he admitted he did not have a full genetic test, or even a Covid test... but had cold symptoms he presumed to be omicron. Both myself and Mrs had colds in late January, but RAT tests were negative. I did hear of bar staff in town testing positive soon after the great bar to restaurant transition period. I just do not yet see it as prevalent as you claimed. Why do you also assume the same 'R' rate? Thailand had more restrictions at that time. 

[PremiumLane]

5 hours ago, Thaiophil said:

Virtually everyone in Thailand has had Omicron or knows somebody who has and very very few get ill. Time to scrap the daft restrictions and get on with life????

I have not had it and most people I know haven't either. But like your statement that is just personal anecdote - I would rather look at the actual data. 

 

And what do you mean by 'very few get ill'? Talking short term or long term? 

[audaciousnomad]

Hospitels salivate at the prospect of positive cases. They are raking in the dough.

[Thaiophil]

2 hours ago, PremiumLane said:

I have not had it and most people I know haven't either. But like your statement that is just personal anecdote - I would rather look at the actual data. 

There is no “actual data” as the Thai authorities don’t offer free pcr tests in most cases and lateral flow tests, even if people take them and declare the result, are not reliable.  Many people getting symptoms either don’t test or don’t reveal the result for fear of compulsory quarantine.

 

Of course suppressing the true infection rate helps official claims about how well the country has managed the pandemic.

 

But that said, I support the underlying wish to declare the pandemic over