Sirijaj Piyamaharajkarun Hospital (SiPH)

[voyagerUSA]

So as I understand it this new hospital is actually a "private wing" of Sirijaj (which is a govt hospital) where private patients can see and get treated by the Sirijaj doctors for a higher fee without waiting in lines and better more modern equipment and environment. However browsing their website I see that most doctors only see patients once a week and (likely) therefore are booked up well in advance, unlike the regular private hospitals where you can see most doctors on 1-2 day notice. So if anyone had experience with this hospital how does it work and how can they really provide continuous care if doctors are only there once a week? Especially for a patient who needs to be hospitalized or has an urgent problem? What would be the advantage of this place over say Bangkok Hospital or Bumrungrad?

[NativeBob]

6 minutes ago, voyagerUSA said:

What would be the advantage of this place over say Bangkok Hospital or Bumrungrad?

any hospital in BKK is better than Bangkok Hospital or Bumrungrad - overpriced and very low quality services. Well not exactly "low", rather price doesn't match quality of service. 

 

SiPH is not the right choice - you'll pay premium money for actual semi-public hospital services. Yet original Siriraj is very nice place and some doctors speak good English. Prepare for hours and hours of waiting. 

 

My friends (Thai) favorite is Bangkok Nursing Hospital <<< I have no idea why

My favorite is Paolo at Saphan Kwai - Ari area

[Sheryl]

The hours shown pertain only to outpatient visit.

 

The doctors will attend hospitalized patients as required, typically visiting daily and also being on call at all times.

 

Many of these same  these doctors also have hours at nearby Thonburi Hospital and waits there for surgery and scans is usually less, cost only very slightly  more.  Typically will be there on a different day than at  SIPH and no problem to  sometimes see Dr at SIPH and sometimes at Thonburi. 

 

Most treatments available at SIPH ard also available at Thonburi but a few exceptions eg radiation therapy for cancer.

 

One warning. Hours shown on Thonburi website sometimes inaccurate, need to call to confirm. 

 

[Lorry]

6 hours ago, voyagerUSA said:

What would be the advantage of this place over say Bangkok Hospital or Bumrungrad?

It's a very different kind of medicine. 

SiPH is a bit like Thai government medicine: you do what is absolutely required. Not more than that. It's very minimalistic, but I like this approach. 

Sometimes it's too minimalistic.

In Bumrungrad/Bangkok Hospital and many other places of Thai private medicine you do everything which you could  possibly think of, as long as it's paid for by the patient's insurance.

 

I have once seen a patient in SiPH whose list of daily medications consisted of 1 (one) pill per day. Impossible in many other private places,  10 pills three times  a day is much more common. 

[LOG54]

Hello

As said above, doctors in this hospital also attend in others.. Google the doctor s name and you will see..

Even there (private side of Sririraj) wait is a bit long. If you inform taking appointment it is an emergency they manage to give you an appointment.

My experience.. heavy supraventricular aritmia.. after 3 years cardiac ablation was decided.. did it in public area Sririraj ( private side was 50% higher).. performed by same Professor Dr Sacchana Prumpueg..I cannot express how excellent this Professor is.. human, extremely nice, highly specialized.. As announced from beginning by the Professor, having double pathology, I had to undergo a second procedure a few months later, as it had improved but not solved totally.. Same procedure and all OK now for nearly one year..

Hospital has a good service, attentive and courteous staff, price is high but nothing to do with others you mention.

For info, this week had to undergo a much smaller surgery (2 claw toes).. Did it in Jomtien hospital in Pattaya.. with the same surgeon the quotation in Bangkok Pattaya hospital was 70% higher than in Jomtien Hospital..on top of it they anticipated I would have to spend 2 to 3 nights or even 1 week there "as due to heart condition it was very difficult situation" and of course that was not included.. 1 night in JPH and out, all good, friendly staff, nice room and food and atmosphere was much better.. for info 1800 bahts for the room (was in from 9 morning till 10 am next day)!!!

Hope this helps..if heart issues Dr Sacchana also attends in Tonburi..

Good luck and have a nice day

[Sheryl]

7 hours ago, Lorry said:

It's a very different kind of medicine. 

SiPH is a bit like Thai government medicine: you do what is absolutely required. Not more than that. It's very minimalistic, but I like this approach. 

Sometimes it's too minimalistic.

In Bumrungrad/Bangkok Hospital and many other places of Thai private medicine you do everything which you could  possibly think of, as long as it's paid for by the patient's insurance.

 

I have once seen a patient in SiPH whose list of daily medications consisted of 1 (one) pill per day. Impossible in many other private places,  10 pills three times  a day is much more common. 

 

And of course cost is about 20% less than Bumrungrad etc.

 

Additionally there are some top Siriraj doctors who are not available at other hospitals.

 

And Siriraj is usually the very first to get new cutting edge equipment and treatments etc.

[alanrchase]

I was referred to Siriraj by a doctor in a Bangkok Hospital. Didn't know anything about the place other than it having private and government buildings. The only easily accessible parking for the public is for the private side so I ended up visiting there. Registered and got an appointment for the next day. Saw the doctor and he referred me to a specialist but said if I used the private side the appointment would be in several weeks time but if I went to the government side the appointment with the same specialist would be sooner. Registered at the government side and got an appointment for the next week. I've continued using the government side for the last 18 months. Waiting times for OPD are no worse than any private hospitals. The OPD has just been renovated and was a bit too cold for me last visit. I got the impression that the private hospitals were pushing me towards government hospitals as I self insure.

[sungod]

A member of my family went there to see a specialist not available anywhere else.

 

I can only describe the care as top notch, no long waiting, and certainly not premium money for 'semi public hospital treatment as described by others. In fact even though we have insurance and money is not the issue, if I lived in Bangkok it would be my hospital of choice.

[Letseng]

1 hour ago, alanrchase said:

I was referred to Siriraj by a doctor in a Bangkok Hospital. Didn't know anything about the place other than it having private and government buildings. The only easily accessible parking for the public is for the private side so I ended up visiting there. Registered and got an appointment for the next day. Saw the doctor and he referred me to a specialist but said if I used the private side the appointment would be in several weeks time but if I went to the government side the appointment with the same specialist would be sooner. Registered at the government side and got an appointment for the next week. I've continued using the government side for the last 18 months. Waiting times for OPD are no worse than any private hospitals. The OPD has just been renovated and was a bit too cold for me last visit. I got the impression that the private hospitals were pushing me towards government hospitals as I self insure.

What do you mean by "waiting times no worse than other private hospitals"? How long did you have to wait?

[Lorry]

1 hour ago, Sheryl said:

 

And of course cost is about 20% less than Bumrungrad etc.

 

Additionally there are some top Siriraj doctors who are not available at other hospitals.

 

And Siriraj is usually the very first to get new cutting edge equipment and treatments etc.

Yes to all of the above

[alanrchase]

32 minutes ago, Letseng said:

What do you mean by "waiting times no worse than other private hospitals"? How long did you have to wait?

"Waiting times no worse than ANY private hospital" I was referring to the waiting time in the government side. People say you will wait for hours which has not been my experience. 

For OPD you are asked to register your arrival half an hour before your appointment so they can get your medical record ready. Normally seen no later than an hour after your appointment. In the private side I was seen 45 minutes after my appointment time. When I saw the specialist in her own department waiting times were similar.

[Letseng]

7 hours ago, alanrchase said:

"Waiting times no worse than ANY private hospital" I was referring to the waiting time in the government side. People say you will wait for hours which has not been my experience. 

For OPD you are asked to register your arrival half an hour before your appointment so they can get your medical record ready. Normally seen no later than an hour after your appointment. In the private side I was seen 45 minutes after my appointment time. When I saw the specialist in her own department waiting times were similar.

Tks.

[voyagerUSA]

Thanks for all the feedback. In fact, I was recommended a specialist at SiPH as being particularly excellent, which is why I wanted to know more about it. Setting up and learning the procedures at a new hospital is a bit of an investment of time and effort but if this hospital is a good resource for the future then it would be worth it.

 

Just out of curiosity how come these govt hospitals have (in some cases) the best specialists? I imagine private hospitals pay more? Of course I am sure money is not everything and it might be a public service sort of thing.

[Lorry]

1 hour ago, voyagerUSA said:

Just out of curiosity how come these govt hospitals have (in some cases) the best specialists? I

You have to get your experience and specialization somewhere,  right? 

An orthopedic surgeon once told me about one kind of surgery: we here, in the government hospital, do several of these operations every day. Over there,  in the (brand name) private hospital,  they do 2 or 3 a month. 

[Sheryl]

2 hours ago, voyagerUSA said:

Thanks for all the feedback. In fact, I was recommended a specialist at SiPH as being particularly excellent, which is why I wanted to know more about it. Setting up and learning the procedures at a new hospital is a bit of an investment of time and effort but if this hospital is a good resource for the future then it would be worth it.

 

Just out of curiosity how come these govt hospitals have (in some cases) the best specialists? I imagine private hospitals pay more? Of course I am sure money is not everything and it might be a public service sort of thing.

 

These top specialists are in senior teaching positions in large university-affiliated government hospitals. This also affords them research opportunities and chances to publish.  Really good doctors have genuine interest in, and enthusiasm for, their work and care about being known in their fields. 

 

Typically they also have some hours at a private hospital to augment their income thus getting the best of both worlds.

 

To encourage such doctors to stay closer to home, and also to encourage usage by middle and upper class Thais who are unwilling or unable to  deal with the long waits etc of the public channel (and want to get direct treatment from these senior docs, rather than interns and residents under their supervision), many government hospitals have established semi-private wings or channels. SIPH is Siriraj's.

[voyagerUSA]

For anyone who is interested I did finally visit SiPH to see the specialist and overall it does not feel much different from the usual high end private hospitals, a bit more businesslike and less "fluff" but overall efficient and to the point. Price, at least for just a consultation, similar to what I would have paid at the high end private places like Bangkok hospital. So if there is a particular specialist you want that cannot be seen anywhere else then it is worthwhile, but the downside is since most of these professors only there 1-2 days per week you need to book an appointment way in advance and cannot just do it last minute unlike with the private hospitals. This is for outpatient but I have no idea how their in patient compares.

[Ben Zioner]

On 8/9/2024 at 8:15 AM, Sheryl said:

And of course cost is about 20% less than Bumrungrad etc.

I dispute that.

 

Thursday I was quoted 60000 only for two nights in their cheapest room. The room per se was about 10000, on which they slap 20k of other costs. And of top of that you MUST have one person, relative or other, with you in the room at all time, preposterous.

 

All that for a procedure that is OP in EU and US.

 

The procedure cost  itself (2 hours OR) is 3000000 while in western hospitals (or Radiology clinics) is costs about half the price of a TURP.

 

Also got the blunt statement: "we don't deal with insurances". And on the cost estimate they candidly state that they charge an extra 25% for non Thai citizens.

 

I'll look at Malaysia, or India, again.

 

A bit said because the young Doctor and nurses were great to deal with. They should look for a job at Bumrungrad.

[Ben Zioner]

On 8/9/2024 at 10:13 AM, Lorry said:

Yes to all of the above

Just to illustrate the level of opacity and nonsense of this place have a look at the pearls of idiocy on my admission/cost estimate form. 

 

The room charge is 8625 but for two days of hos[italisation they charge 60000, for recovery from what is an outpatient procedure anywhere in the civilised world.

 

And then after paying 30000 a day tou must provide you own nursing care, as in a remote district hospital. Preposterous.

 

And the way this rubbish has been redacted I don't know if I am supposed to pay 360000 of 450000 as they, very officillay, overcharge foreigners by 25%.

 

None of that, ever, at Bumrungrad but saddly they don't do PAE. My most likely alternative will be Prince Court who accept direct payment from Cigna.

 

 

[Sheryl]

I have no idea why the room charge shows that high, did you ask? It will nto have been do to add on nursinbg fee abnd meals alone, that would not more than double it.

 

As for insurance, SIPH definitely does accept insurance and has direct payment arrangements with some  insurers as listed here

 

https://www.siphhospital.com/en/patient-services/mutual-clients

 

While your insurer  may not be among these,  I have also had reports of people arranging direct payment to other insurers. Did you speak directly to the 3rd party payment office?

 

And lastly, to be clear - is the estimate shown from SIPH, or from Siriraj the government hospital? As it is the latter which adds a 25% surcharge for foreigners.  And which requires an attendant etc. I would be amazed if SIPH did either.