NHSO Fine-Tunes 1330 Hotline for Covid Patients

by Krajangwit Johjit

BANGKOK (NNT) - The National Health Security Office (NHSO) has refined the role of its hotline 1330 to assist callers in determining the severity of their Covid-19 symptoms so that they can seek appropriate treatment.

Dr. Jadet Thamthataree, secretary-general of NHSO, stated that the role of hotline 1330 has been modified since the Ministry of Public Health changed its policy on how to treat people infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

Since March 1, infected people with mild or no symptoms have been treated as outpatients, with the ministry advising them to seek medication based on their symptoms from hospitals where they have rights and to stay at home to recover from the virus.

On March 16, officials removed Covid treatment from the Universal Coverage for Emergency Patients (UCEP) policy, which allowed infected people to seek treatment at any hospital. Instead, the disease has been added to the UCEP Plus list, which means that only patients with moderate to severe conditions can seek treatment at any hospital with the government footing the bill.

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According to the new UCEP policy, an infected person dialing 1330 must now press 14 to enter the symptom diagnosis procedure. Only those identified as belonging to groups at risk of developing severe conditions will be referred to hospitals for treatment. Patients who exhibit mild symptoms will be placed in home isolation.

Dr. Jadet stated that the NHSO has established a new 1330 extension 18 to remotely diagnose Covid positive elderly, people with eight underlying illnesses, bed-ridden patients, the disabled, and children under the age of five.

In addition to the 1330 Hotline, the NHSO secretary-general said the public, particularly Bangkok residents, can obtain more information on Covid-19 and medical facilities where they can be treated by visiting https://main.bangkok.go.th and the PR Bangkok Facebook page at www.facebook.com/prbangkok.