Picture courtesy of Department of Mental Health

 

Allegations against some private hospitals for issuing fake health certificates to migrant workers have put Thailand's healthcare credibility in jeopardy. Deputy Public Health Minister Chaichana Dechdecho has accused a few rogue institutions of issuing these certificates without the necessary health checks.

 

Authorities are currently conducting investigations into the methods employed by these hospitals. If Mr Chaichana finds them guilty, the consequences will be grave. "Licences will be pulled, both from the hospitals and the doctors involved," he asserted with a zero-tolerance stance on these misdemeanours.

 

A core part of the problem lies in the hospitals allegedly bypassing crucial tests, such as blood tests and X-rays, leading to fears of unchecked infectious diseases. This breaches medical ethics and poses a threat to public health, stirring a potential health crisis on Thai soil, reported the Bangkok Post.

 

The investigation's net also extends to recruitment companies running mobile health checks. These players have been ordered to cooperate under the microscope of the Department of Disease Control and local hospitals. Stern action awaits those guilty, with Mr Chaichana vowing personal oversight on the matter.

 

The allegations come amid a backdrop of rising health standards within Thailand and could threaten its reputation if not addressed promptly. The concerned authorities are advocating a thorough clean-up to maintain trust and safety for Thai citizens.

 

  Adapted by ASEAN Now from Bangkok Post 2025-08-20

 

I've been here 20 years now, they've been doing this since the day I got here, and I'm positive long before. My fake health certificate was to get clearance to become a scuba instructor. It was a joke. I laid down on a table, the doctor pushed on my belly as if looking for appendicitis, and 150 baht later I got my health clearance.

 

I believe they're just making noise, "rattling sabres," will make some checks for show, then business will return to issuing 150 baht health certificates.

 

 

The health certificate is one of Thailand biggest scams. Even the government hospitals give them out quickly and easily. You go in, tell the doctor you have no problems. Maybe you will get lucky if the doctor bothers to listen to your lungs and heart. 

There is no real check on if you are healthy to work. 

I have to get a med. cert. for work permit. What a joke. Doc taps my chest and back a few times and that's it and sometimes it's not even that. As for blood test every year it's a syphilis check but as for x-rays this is simply absurd. I for one would not want to be getting x-rayed every year.

Last medical test for a driving licence, I was sat in the waiting room, doctor opened a sliding hatch, looked me up and down from a range of 5 metres; 5 minutes later his receptionist handed me the completed form!

53 minutes ago, thesetat said:

The health certificate is one of Thailand biggest scams. Even the government hospitals give them out quickly and easily. You go in, tell the doctor you have no problems. Maybe you will get lucky if the doctor bothers to listen to your lungs and heart. 

There is no real check on if you are healthy to work. 

I have had to get 2 health certificates issued in Thailand over about 13 years - in and out in about 2 minutes, no physical examinations, did I have conditions/diseases A, B, C, D or E ("no"), no check of my medical history on the hospital's computer system, pay on the way out. 

2 minutes ago, JAG said:

Last medical test for a driving licence, I was sat in the waiting room, doctor opened a sliding hatch, looked me up and down from a range of 5 metres; 5 minutes later his receptionist handed me the completed form!

Wow! That's the BEST (or WORST depending on your perspective) I ever heard.

 

While we're on the subject of fake health checks, I knew a Navy Corpsman who, among other tasks, had to do the prostate finger wave. When his victim was in position, trousers dropped, he'd place a glove filled with sand on one shoulder, put one hand on the other shoulder, and proceed with the deed. Eventually they'd realize "HEY! If both this guy's hands are on my shoulders, what's he putting up me bum?"

 

He wound up in prison for perving on his 14 year old step daughter.

I once actually had a chest X-ray for a health certificate here. They "diagnosed" my nipple ring as "...bullet fragments in left upper chest".