I have used the Spanish health system on numerous occasions, as has my wife and Mother. In may case I have found Doctors overprescribe and they still routinely prescribe Nolotil, which is a disgrace. My Mother initially went to a Government hospital, after being discharged she had a relapse. She opted for a Private hospital and they contradicted the medical assessment of the Government hospital. On another occasion she was given an unnecessary procedure because of a language misunderstanding. English speaking Doctors was perhaps 50% of the time. Her passport was LOST by the medical services once when she was rushed to hospital. In Spanish hospitals, both private and public, they expect the family to feed the patient. We know many people with terrible experiences there, both private and public. I know someone who had a foot operation in Spain and returned to the UK to have it done properly some months later. Another person was called for an operation late one evening and after waiting 10 hours returned back home without the operation being done. To rank them anywhere near Thailand, is not a view I share.

they saved my life at bnh. good enough for me.

A dubious study at best but that doesn’t stop the government PR folks from hyping it.

21 hours ago, ronnie50 said:

Good question. Thailand is 12.5% over 5 years. By comparison, South Korea is nearly 70% and Japan more than 60%. China 36%. But India is way down - 9%. UK only 20%. US, Canada and Australia around 30ish.

There is a map below - not all countries' data available.

https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/cancer-survival-rates-by-country

I'd love to see the correlation between levels of pollution and cancer survival... while your body is trying to fight off one batch of cancer, new ones are gaining a foothold

On 7/4/2026 at 11:27 AM, XRules said:

Total Rubbish - the survey only measures BS artificial numbers and ratings and all at the top end of town extremely expensive Bangkok Chiang Mai and Pattaya (private) Hospitals. A country's rating must include the Public and Private hospitals and associated research and professional quality, in all Cities and Regional areas. This is a much more realistic rating for Thailand - 55th on Healthcare.

2026 Best Healthcare Systems: Global Health Rankings

https://www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/rankings/health

If anyone does not realise this - Thailand is Corrupt and all 'information' provided by Government and Politicians needs to be taken with a grain of salt.

Like everything else the proof of the pudding is in the eating.

But then you have to have sat at the dining table.

Are they in eighth place in terms of knowledge and expertise regarding health, or are they in eighth place in terms of the high costs of medical treatment?

I have a feeling it’s the latter, having used it here over the past 28 years, I’ve mentioned this before, but since the tsunami, prices at private hospitals have skyrocketed.