Overworked and underappreciated, doctors need more support

[snoop1130]

 

“Do we know the problems? We do, but there are these things called medical ethics and sacrifice that constrain us. If we don’t see the patients who are waiting, how is it going to work? If we can do it. If we can endure it, just endure it,” said Dr. Poowanai Sarkhampee, Hepato-pancreato-biliary Surgeon at Sunpasitthiprasong Hospital in Ubon Ratchathani, who shared his thoughts with Thai PBS World on the harsh working conditions of medical personnel in Thai state hospitals, which has become a hot topic on social media.

 

In state hospitals, doctors, interns and nurses alike have to endure long hours, sometimes working 24 hours in a row, just to make sure the patients get the medical attention they need. The unhealthy workload has led to the number of new medical personnel dwindling and these problems have existed for a long time.

 

Demand and supply

 

While qualified medical professionals are in short supply, the number of patients keeps rising. When the doctor-to-patient ratio becomes disproportional, the workload increases to the point that some people to just leave the profession altogether.

 

Full Story: https://www.thaipbsworld.com/overworked-and-underappreciated-doctors-need-more-support/

 

-- © Copyright Thai PBS 2023-06-16

 

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[ikke1959]

Doctors are not overworked only greedy.. They mostly have a clinic at home before hey go to the hospitals and in the evening they work in the clinics again... Good business for the doctors, so why complain?? If you work in the hospital don't open your clinic but start at 8.00/8.30 instead of 10.o'clock because you were busy in your clinic  and work till 17.00 and take a rest instead of in your clinic again meet patients till 19.30. 

[kickstart]

We have 3-4 clinics in our area, only open in the evenings, and one on a Saturday morning, why open in the evenings only ?because the doctors are working at the local hospital during the day .

I was at our locale hospital seeing about a hip problem the doctor went home at 4 pm ,to do his clinic in the evening.

As we all know that is where they make, they money.

These doctors will be the more senior ones the rules need to be changed so these doctors do more work at the hospital they are supposed to be working at, not skiving off to line their pockets at they own clinics.

But, to be fair to the hospitals, the OP is right the Thai popular will go to the hospital for the most minor of things i.e. wife's daughter ,she has 3 kids, had a bad cold this week ,off to the hospital she went ,a while ago the wife's granddaughter had period pains ......of to the hospital she went ,and less than24 later she was better ,could have got some tablets from the local chemists .

The people do need educating but it will a big uphill struggle try to change something that has been going on for a lot of years. 

[Ralf001]

I asked one of my ICU nurses if she needed "support".... she declined.

[ubonr1971]

i know nurses get the rough end of the deal. Long hours and low pay. I know one who works in bkk

[daveAustin]

They could choose another profession if it is too much for them. We get all this in the UK and they are well paid there. If there are evermore people sick, then something is broken... let's look at diet and the pharmaceutical industry pumping the wrong things into patients.

[hotchilli]

18 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

In state hospitals, doctors, interns and nurses alike have to endure long hours, sometimes working 24 hours in a row, just to make sure the patients get the medical attention they need. The unhealthy workload has led to the number of new medical personnel dwindling and these problems have existed for a long time.

Don't worry Anutin has your back...

[Kwaibill]

I think the current thirty baht scheme is a considerable factor. Are medicines covered under this? 
Perhaps raise it to 100 baht and see if some think twice before running to hospital for a bandaid. 

[Ralf001]

4 minutes ago, Kwaibill said:

I think the current thirty baht scheme is a considerable factor. Are medicines covered under this? 
Perhaps raise it to 100 baht and see if some think twice before running to hospital for a bandaid. 

Medical care and treatment aint free and its damn certain the 30b aint covering it.

Govt need to up the fee and use this to pay the medical staff in their hospitals more.

[chalawaan]

AI is coming like the cavalry. 

[h90]

Just now, chalawaan said:

AI is coming like the cavalry. 

But will need a couple more years.....What ChatGPT and Bard tells on a bad day is not useable...it amputate your leg when you have a fungal nail infection....

[h90]

10 minutes ago, Ralf001 said:

Medical care and treatment aint free and its damn certain the 30b aint covering it.

Govt need to up the fee and use this to pay the medical staff in their hospitals more.

And it causes people who have only minor problems to go to the hospital. Overloading the system.

Make it real costs cap at 5000 Baht and real poor people get it free.

Don't know if it is only here in our office but if someone has a sore throat they run to the doctor (not hospital) and come with 5 different tablets.

[Ralf001]

2 minutes ago, h90 said:

And it causes people who have only minor problems to go to the hospital. Overloading the system.

Make it real costs cap at 5000 Baht and real poor people get it free.

Don't know if it is only here in our office but if someone has a sore throat they run to the doctor (not hospital) and come with 5 different tablets.

Myself and the ball and chain go to the clinic in my soi for minor ailments.

 

In my office they go to their local doc with a minor cough then email me a certificate for 5 days off work cause the doc says they have covid and inc a positive ATK test picture.

 

Asked HR to change policy to require a PCR test be done or time off work will be unpaid.

employee positive, employer pays for the test.

employee negative, employee pays for the test.

 

that would sort out the ones taking the piss and just wanting a 5 days off work real quick when its a chunk of coin coming from their pocket.

 

 

[h90]

1 hour ago, Ralf001 said:

Myself and the ball and chain go to the clinic in my soi for minor ailments.

 

In my office they go to their local doc with a minor cough then email me a certificate for 5 days off work cause the doc says they have covid and inc a positive ATK test picture.

 

Asked HR to change policy to require a PCR test be done or time off work will be unpaid.

employee positive, employer pays for the test.

employee negative, employee pays for the test.

 

that would sort out the ones taking the piss and just wanting a 5 days off work real quick when its a chunk of coin coming from their pocket.

 

 

Lol...can we destroy that posting before my staff gets ideas?

In the company we don't have that problem....recently we don't even had these surprise sickness that happens Monday morning...migraine or diarrhea. If someone is sick we don't really need a doctors certificate....but we are a very small company.

 

Minor things I treat myself or wait it out.

My wife had bungalows for tourists in the south and some middle age women to clean and similar things. Paid per day (so if not come not pay) they all very like once a week with something at the hospital. I don't know if they are really ALL in poor health or if they are hypochonder or if that is a kind of place they meet other people? Whatever it is, it is not possible to finance that.

 

[zzaa09]

I'd be more impressed if they were knowledgeable, connected and better educated regarding their health/medicine practiced fields. 

 

I can get more insight from local practitioners of traditional medicine than that of Western allopathic training types. 

[billd766]

On 6/16/2023 at 7:29 PM, ikke1959 said:

Doctors are not overworked only greedy.. They mostly have a clinic at home before hey go to the hospitals and in the evening they work in the clinics again... Good business for the doctors, so why complain?? If you work in the hospital don't open your clinic but start at 8.00/8.30 instead of 10.o'clock because you were busy in your clinic  and work till 17.00 and take a rest instead of in your clinic again meet patients till 19.30. 

Rubbish.

 

I agree that SOME doctors have their own clinics but they are mainly senior doctors and specialists.

 

Visit any government hospital and you will find some patients have been there since 5 or 6 am and there are hundreds of patients and only a limited number of doctors.

 

How long should a doctor spend with a patient?

 

Anywhere between 5  and 30 minutes depending on the patients symptoms and if they need other treatment such as X-Rays, blood tests, ECG etc. The patients get sent off for them and then are called back to see the doctors to get the results, treatments and medicines.

 

During the number of times I have been to state hospitals I have never seen any doctor turn a patient away.

 

Doctors and nurses are human just like the rest of us and they need meal and rest breaks.

 

On the inpatient side there may only be 1 or 2 doctors on call to cover a number of wards and a nurse may have to cover 1 or 2 wards of up to 20 or more patients each and the cover is 24/7.

 

The more staff that resign early puts more strain on the remaining staff.

[billd766]

5 hours ago, h90 said:

But will need a couple more years.....What ChatGPT and Bard tells on a bad day is not useable...it amputate your leg when you have a fungal nail infection....

Who takes any notice of what ChatGPT and Bard tells you?

 

5 hours ago, h90 said:

And it causes people who have only minor problems to go to the hospital. Overloading the system.

Make it real costs cap at 5000 Baht and real poor people get it free.

Don't know if it is only here in our office but if someone has a sore throat they run to the doctor (not hospital) and come with 5 different tablets.

Thus speaks a rich farang who has no idea how poor Thais live.

 

 

[ikke1959]

1 hour ago, billd766 said:

Rubbish.

 

I agree that SOME doctors have their own clinics but they are mainly senior doctors and specialists.

 

Visit any government hospital and you will find some patients have been there since 5 or 6 am and there are hundreds of patients and only a limited number of doctors.

 

How long should a doctor spend with a patient?

 

Anywhere between 5  and 30 minutes depending on the patients symptoms and if they need other treatment such as X-Rays, blood tests, ECG etc. The patients get sent off for them and then are called back to see the doctors to get the results, treatments and medicines.

 

During the number of times I have been to state hospitals I have never seen any doctor turn a patient away.

 

Doctors and nurses are human just like the rest of us and they need meal and rest breaks.

 

On the inpatient side there may only be 1 or 2 doctors on call to cover a number of wards and a nurse may have to cover 1 or 2 wards of up to 20 or more patients each and the cover is 24/7.

 

The more staff that resign early puts more strain on the remaining staff.

I don't know but I am going to the hospital every 3 months for years already and I l know for sure that what I write is very true. as I visit the same doctor in his private clinic too for other reasons...and 5 minites a patient I wish they had... normally it is in and out max 5 minutes, other than in my country where the doctor has the time for you, but coming too late in the hospital with too many patients, there is no real time to talk, even in his private clinic.

 

Edited June 17, 2023 by ikke1959

[ujayujay]

On 6/16/2023 at 7:29 PM, ikke1959 said:

Doctors are not overworked only greedy.. They mostly have a clinic at home before hey go to the hospitals and in the evening they work in the clinics again... Good business for the doctors, so why complain?? If you work in the hospital don't open your clinic but start at 8.00/8.30 instead of 10.o'clock because you were busy in your clinic  and work till 17.00 and take a rest instead of in your clinic again meet patients till 19.30. 

????????????Dreamer????????????

[Mavideol]

nothing to feel sorry for and wonder why a topic like that made it here ..... been thinking about the ones I know and come to realize NONE is overworked and/or underpaid, on the contrary

 

Question??? do any of them pay taxes on the (mostly cash) income from the (after legal work) clinics

Edited June 18, 2023 by Mavideol