Thai Govt's Medical Hub Policy 'Should Benefit Public'

[webfact]

Medical hub policy 'should benefit public'

By Pongphon Sarnsamak

The Nation

Health system suffered; many doctors drawn to private hospitals

The government should create a balance between generating income from making Thailand an international medical hub and providing citizens with good basic healthcare, a seminar was told yesterday.

The Department of Medical Services (DMS) held a public hearing on implementation of the second phase of the government's medical hub policy at Bangkok's Ambassador Hotel, with about 200 people from state agencies, the private sector and civic groups participating.

The department's director-general Dr Boonrueng Trairueng-worawat said the second phase would be implemented between now and 2014, and should generate revenue of more than Bt400 billion from medical services, as well as from alternative and herbal remedies.

There are three core plans under the second phase of the medical hub policy.

The first is to make Thailand's health business more competitive. Under this, one-stop service centres will be set up, and state healthcare units will be either privatised or work under a private-public partnership. Measures for surveying, studying and monitoring adverse effects from the medical-hub policy will also be established, and medical and public health workers prepared to maintain the quality and distribution of services.

Regulations will be revised to support the development of health services, as well as allow local and foreign patients easy access to healthcare.

Under the second plan, the healthcare system will be brought up to international standards and provide long-term medical care to foreign and elderly patients. The plan will also cover medical reimbursements for foreign patients, especially those from Scandinavia and the United States. The state and private sector will also establish hospitals offering traditional or alternative medicines, while a state agency will be set up to produce herbal cosmetics and health supplements.

The third strategic plan would focus on promoting health tourism internationally.

Boonrueng said the second phase of the policy would not focus on medical services alone because the public healthcare system suffered during the first phase from 2004 to 2007. He said that since the medical hub policy was implemented in 2004, doctors from state hospitals and medical schools took up part-time jobs at private institutions. In fact, some doctors, especially highly skilled ones, quit state hospitals for private institutions to get more money.

The National Health Security Office's deputy secretary-general Dr Peeraphon Suttivisetsak said the government should develop medical facilities that provide the same standard of service for both local and foreign patients.

Meanwhile, Dr Chit Sitti-amorn said relevant agencies should team up to ensure implementation is balanced and benefits the people.

The government should analyse the country's medical situation and look into things such as resources and investment before implementing the policy. Medical services should also be made affordable for everybody, he said.

In addition, the government should offer better financial incentives at state hospitals so medical workers are not lured to private institutions.

The income generated from the policy should be used to help boost the competitiveness of medical services on offer. The government should also comply with the Health Assembly's resolution, which does not believe the medical hub policy should be turned into a commercial one.

Director-general of the Health Service Support Department, Dr Somchai Pinyopornpanich said more public hearings on the issue would be conducted in Chiang Mai, Khon Kaen and Phuket in the near future.

-- The Nation 2011-02-01

[elshaheen]

How can Thailand be a HUB when it already has a few flat tires and even the spares have holes in them already.

So far, Thailand is the HUB of: corruption, money laundering,etc.

[Darkman]

Is Hub a word Thai's have just discovered?? They seem to be using it a lot lately, little bit like "crackdown". I've seen it referred to when they thought their airport should be the Hub of SE Asia. Then I saw a reference to the Tourist Hub of Asia. . Now it's a Medical Hub, whatever that is. How about Narcotics Hub, Child Sex Hub, Land of Smiles Hub, who gives a hub....

[Felt 35]

Medical hub policy 'should benefit public'

Well if Thailand shall aim to be an International medical hub I believe it’s should have treatments available for any conditions and equipment at least as good as their neighbouring countries.

The last 10 years I have travelled from Thailand to Singapore and Malaysia and sometimes back to Europe every 2- 3 months for a treatment they offer there but not here. It’s a simple treatment but the equipment is costly but very effective and compared to other treatments for the same conditions the treatment have an average of 70% better heeling success than other treatment options for the same condition.

What have so this middleclass residents seen of improvement here? A lot of money used on the facade. Sure that not benefits the public. Making believe, maybe...

[pattayaorganic]

"The National Health Security Office's deputy secretary-general Dr Peeraphon Suttivisetsak said the government should develop medical facilities that provide the same standard of service for both local and foreign patients."

Hopefully Dr. Peeraphon is a better doctor than he is an economist.

This is political pandering and has nothing to do with the development of health care in Thailand.

Having the best health care in the world doesn't mean anything unless people have access to it. Speaking as someone who has seen the healthcare system from upcountry to the international hospitals in Bangkok, Thailand actually does an excellent job of serving such a diverse population.

The claim that doctors are "leaving" government hospitals for better pay in private hospitals is outright wrong. Giving doctors the freedom to move to different hospitals allows them to make a living and advance their knowledge while continuing to serve at government hospitals. I personally know some of the top oncologists in Thailand and despite receiving offers from large international hospitals, he continues to serve in his government cancer center while doing part-time gigs at international hospitals.

This benefits foreign and Thai patients alike. Doctors in Thailand that are not just after the money commonly work for both private and public hospitals and the knock-on effects of having access to leading edge treatments and technologies also benefits Thailand as a whole.

The entire premise that international tourism draws brain power from public hospitals is farce. In addition, when you are talking about the health care of a poor farmer, does this farmer really need to pay for a limestone tiled bathroom as part of his healthcare bill? The entire concept is ridiculous. Or, would you prefer international patients use small, Thai style bathrooms with no toilet paper?

I personally run a clinic aimed at foreign medical tourists but we set aside a portion of our revenue to treat Thais who cannot afford our leading-edge treatments. We are not a charity, but are a commercial operation. Without access to foreign patients we couldn't afford to treat the needy Thais.

[Crushdepth]

Actually the 'medical tourism hub' is arguably working. The major hospitals in Bangkok are full of international patients everytime I go.

Not sure the locals benefit in terms of healthcare though.

[w11guy]

I recently had a check-up in Bangkok and the facilities and equipment are much better than you can get back in the UK. The prices are also very reasonable. This is how Thailand can become a medical hub.

You jaded ex-pats have no idea.

[inquisitive]

"The National Health Security Office's deputy secretary-general Dr Peeraphon Suttivisetsak said the government should develop medical facilities that provide the same standard of service for both local and foreign patients."

Hopefully Dr. Peeraphon is a better doctor than he is an economist.

This is political pandering and has nothing to do with the development of health care in Thailand.

Having the best health care in the world doesn't mean anything unless people have access to it. Speaking as someone who has seen the healthcare system from upcountry to the international hospitals in Bangkok, Thailand actually does an excellent job of serving such a diverse population.

The claim that doctors are "leaving" government hospitals for better pay in private hospitals is outright wrong. Giving doctors the freedom to move to different hospitals allows them to make a living and advance their knowledge while continuing to serve at government hospitals. I personally know some of the top oncologists in Thailand and despite receiving offers from large international hospitals, he continues to serve in his government cancer center while doing part-time gigs at international hospitals.

This benefits foreign and Thai patients alike. Doctors in Thailand that are not just after the money commonly work for both private and public hospitals and the knock-on effects of having access to leading edge treatments and technologies also benefits Thailand as a whole.

The entire premise that international tourism draws brain power from public hospitals is farce. In addition, when you are talking about the health care of a poor farmer, does this farmer really need to pay for a limestone tiled bathroom as part of his healthcare bill? The entire concept is ridiculous. Or, would you prefer international patients use small, Thai style bathrooms with no toilet paper?

I personally run a clinic aimed at foreign medical tourists but we set aside a portion of our revenue to treat Thais who cannot afford our leading-edge treatments. We are not a charity, but are a commercial operation. Without access to foreign patients we couldn't afford to treat the needy Thais.

How I wish you were representative of the rule rathr than the exception. I am a foreigner who has served on the faculty of many international Medical Schools (9?), written something like five textbooks, and have served as Senior Project Supervisor for one of the King's medical projects. I have a home upcountry as well as in Bangkok and have had unfettered access to the health-care system at all levels. I also have made use of the system at various levels for members of my own family, ranging from angioplasties, treatment of kidney stones, childbirth, and a host of minor ailments. It is my very strong opinion that the best of Thai medicine is far better than the worst of other countries, but it is NOT up to the level of the very best in the West. Not much good can be said about the provincial facilities at all beyond a dispensor of first aid, especially since they have been drained of anyone with even an average ability in order to feed the government sponsored medical monster of Bangkok that serves rich foreigners. As to the best of the best in Bangkok, perhaps a simple example will best communicate their status better than any analysis I could offer. These medical palaces - sometimes complete with a grand piano in the reception area - have beautiful new carpets, gleaming new equipment, and stunning nurses. What they lack is a committment to the welfare of the patient ahead of personal gain. These doctors have often been trained in the West and therefore know of proper procedures, but since they are rarely held personally accountable for their work, they demonstrate that doctors are just humans with an education. They have all the failings of car mechanics and used car salesmen, but are distinguished from these by thier advanced degrees. They ar enever ratd for compassion, or integrity, however, and more than school teachers, or housepainters. In othr words, some are good and some are bad.

My 86 year old father was on an extended visit here when he ate a hot dog and it got stuck in his throat. He could not swallow even his own saliva and had to carry a plastic bag with him to drool into. This also meant that he could not take even one of the dozen pills that were required each day to keep him alive. He went to the flagship hospital in all Thailand where the doctor performed a series of dangerous tests to determine that my dad could not swallow. (Duh!) Then the doctor pronounced that the blockage would probably clear itself up in a few days. He then said that if it had not cleared in five days and my dad were still alive he should return for further evaluation. The doctor than told my Thai wife in Thai that if he came back, she should please bring my dad to some other doctor since at 86 years old my dad's health was fragile and "anything could happen."

As a health professional I can tell you the treatment. 1) you give the patient a glass of water and ask him to swallow it. If he cannot, that means there is blockage. Use of radioactive contrast media as was used in the hospital here is extremely dangerous and unnecessary and would constitute malpractice inth USA. If my father hs coughed during th eprocedure he could have been thrown into immediat lung surgery. 2) if there is blockage, you then stick a camera down the patient's throat to see what the blockage is. 3) Once you see what is blocking the swallowing, you simply pull out the blockage and send the patient home. We're talking about a 30 minute total time in the hospital here. This is not rocket science. It i not eve second year medical school.

Ultimately my father had to be sent on a 26 hour airplane flight back to Florida to have this simple treatment performed. Had he listened to the doctor here he surely would have died either from dehydration or heart failure because of the lack of medications. Even the two days it took to get him to a doctor that cared more about the patient than his own treatment statistics was an extremely dangerous venture. We were not sure he woudl survive the trip.

Medical hub? World class treatment? You decide. Jut ask yourself how many medical professionals from around the world show up here for treatments, and you will begin to understand the true picture. How many say "I think instead of Switzerland (or Germany, or America, or Sweden, I'll go to Thailand because the treatment is so much better"? And then ask yourself how many people in this country with enough money to go to a private clinic even withtheir glaring weaknesses show up for their treatments at a provincial hospital. The question on the minds of those in he know is not whether the medical establishment here is worthy of being a major international hub, but rather whether treatment here is worse than no treatment at all (as was the case with my father). (Hint: the answer deepends on how serious the original problem is and how much care teh doctor must put into diagnosis and treatment.)

CAN it be better? Absolutely. But that will not happen until the individual doctors have to stand accountable for their treatments and mistreatments. As a practicioner in the West, I abhor the malpractice situation that has so engulfed the professions, but there mut be some other way to get the doctors to put the needs of the patient before their wallets, their boats, and their golf games.

[jdinasia]

Actually the 'medical tourism hub' is arguably working. The major hospitals in Bangkok are full of international patients everytime I go.

Not sure the locals benefit in terms of healthcare though.

Many of the Thai Drs working in places like BH also work in government hospitals (paying back every year of overseas study with 2 years of working for the government.) It can be argued that the more that these drs work with drs that have only gotten training in Thailand, the more that the general pool of medical knowledge improves in Thailand.

[Payboy]

Which was that hospital that was caught last year charging foreign patients 300 Baht for band-aid?

Hubba Hubba!

[jaltsc]

I'm surprised they didn't prescribe an antibiotic. I thought that was the cure all in local medicine.

"The National Health Security Office's deputy secretary-general Dr Peeraphon Suttivisetsak said the government should develop medical facilities that provide the same standard of service for both local and foreign patients."

Hopefully Dr. Peeraphon is a better doctor than he is an economist.

This is political pandering and has nothing to do with the development of health care in Thailand.

Having the best health care in the world doesn't mean anything unless people have access to it. Speaking as someone who has seen the healthcare system from upcountry to the international hospitals in Bangkok, Thailand actually does an excellent job of serving such a diverse population.

The claim that doctors are "leaving" government hospitals for better pay in private hospitals is outright wrong. Giving doctors the freedom to move to different hospitals allows them to make a living and advance their knowledge while continuing to serve at government hospitals. I personally know some of the top oncologists in Thailand and despite receiving offers from large international hospitals, he continues to serve in his government cancer center while doing part-time gigs at international hospitals.

This benefits foreign and Thai patients alike. Doctors in Thailand that are not just after the money commonly work for both private and public hospitals and the knock-on effects of having access to leading edge treatments and technologies also benefits Thailand as a whole.

The entire premise that international tourism draws brain power from public hospitals is farce. In addition, when you are talking about the health care of a poor farmer, does this farmer really need to pay for a limestone tiled bathroom as part of his healthcare bill? The entire concept is ridiculous. Or, would you prefer international patients use small, Thai style bathrooms with no toilet paper?

I personally run a clinic aimed at foreign medical tourists but we set aside a portion of our revenue to treat Thais who cannot afford our leading-edge treatments. We are not a charity, but are a commercial operation. Without access to foreign patients we couldn't afford to treat the needy Thais.

How I wish you were representative of the rule rathr than the exception. I am a foreigner who has served on the faculty of many international Medical Schools (9?), written something like five textbooks, and have served as Senior Project Supervisor for one of the King's medical projects. I have a home upcountry as well as in Bangkok and have had unfettered access to the health-care system at all levels. I also have made use of the system at various levels for members of my own family, ranging from angioplasties, treatment of kidney stones, childbirth, and a host of minor ailments. It is my very strong opinion that the best of Thai medicine is far better than the worst of other countries, but it is NOT up to the level of the very best in the West. Not much good can be said about the provincial facilities at all beyond a dispensor of first aid, especially since they have been drained of anyone with even an average ability in order to feed the government sponsored medical monster of Bangkok that serves rich foreigners. As to the best of the best in Bangkok, perhaps a simple example will best communicate their status better than any analysis I could offer. These medical palaces - sometimes complete with a grand piano in the reception area - have beautiful new carpets, gleaming new equipment, and stunning nurses. What they lack is a committment to the welfare of the patient ahead of personal gain. These doctors have often been trained in the West and therefore know of proper procedures, but since they are rarely held personally accountable for their work, they demonstrate that doctors are just humans with an education. They have all the failings of car mechanics and used car salesmen, but are distinguished from these by thier advanced degrees. They ar enever ratd for compassion, or integrity, however, and more than school teachers, or housepainters. In othr words, some are good and some are bad.

My 86 year old father was on an extended visit here when he ate a hot dog and it got stuck in his throat. He could not swallow even his own saliva and had to carry a plastic bag with him to drool into. This also meant that he could not take even one of the dozen pills that were required each day to keep him alive. He went to the flagship hospital in all Thailand where the doctor performed a series of dangerous tests to determine that my dad could not swallow. (Duh!) Then the doctor pronounced that the blockage would probably clear itself up in a few days. He then said that if it had not cleared in five days and my dad were still alive he should return for further evaluation. The doctor than told my Thai wife in Thai that if he came back, she should please bring my dad to some other doctor since at 86 years old my dad's health was fragile and "anything could happen."

As a health professional I can tell you the treatment. 1) you give the patient a glass of water and ask him to swallow it. If he cannot, that means there is blockage. Use of radioactive contrast media as was used in the hospital here is extremely dangerous and unnecessary and would constitute malpractice inth USA. If my father hs coughed during th eprocedure he could have been thrown into immediat lung surgery. 2) if there is blockage, you then stick a camera down the patient's throat to see what the blockage is. 3) Once you see what is blocking the swallowing, you simply pull out the blockage and send the patient home. We're talking about a 30 minute total time in the hospital here. This is not rocket science. It i not eve second year medical school.

Ultimately my father had to be sent on a 26 hour airplane flight back to Florida to have this simple treatment performed. Had he listened to the doctor here he surely would have died either from dehydration or heart failure because of the lack of medications. Even the two days it took to get him to a doctor that cared more about the patient than his own treatment statistics was an extremely dangerous venture. We were not sure he woudl survive the trip.

Medical hub? World class treatment? You decide. Jut ask yourself how many medical professionals from around the world show up here for treatments, and you will begin to understand the true picture. How many say "I think instead of Switzerland (or Germany, or America, or Sweden, I'll go to Thailand because the treatment is so much better"? And then ask yourself how many people in this country with enough money to go to a private clinic even withtheir glaring weaknesses show up for their treatments at a provincial hospital. The question on the minds of those in he know is not whether the medical establishment here is worthy of being a major international hub, but rather whether treatment here is worse than no treatment at all (as was the case with my father). (Hint: the answer deepends on how serious the original problem is and how much care teh doctor must put into diagnosis and treatment.)

CAN it be better? Absolutely. But that will not happen until the individual doctors have to stand accountable for their treatments and mistreatments. As a practicioner in the West, I abhor the malpractice situation that has so engulfed the professions, but there mut be some other way to get the doctors to put the needs of the patient before their wallets, their boats, and their golf games.

[Felt 35]

These medical palaces - sometimes complete with a grand piano in the reception area - have beautiful new carpets, gleaming new equipment, and stunning nurses. What they lack is a committment to the welfare of the patient ahead of personal gain.

There it is in a nut shell!

[Skywalker69]

Is Hub a word Thai's have just discovered?? They seem to be using it a lot lately, little bit like "crackdown". I've seen it referred to when they thought their airport should be the Hub of SE Asia. Then I saw a reference to the Tourist Hub of Asia. . Now it's a Medical Hub, whatever that is. How about Narcotics Hub, Child Sex Hub, Land of Smiles Hub, who gives a hub....

thailand is the Mother of all hubs!

[pattayaorganic]

"The National Health Security Office's deputy secretary-general Dr Peeraphon Suttivisetsak said the government should develop medical facilities that provide the same standard of service for both local and foreign patients."

Hopefully Dr. Peeraphon is a better doctor than he is an economist.

This is political pandering and has nothing to do with the development of health care in Thailand.

Having the best health care in the world doesn't mean anything unless people have access to it. Speaking as someone who has seen the healthcare system from upcountry to the international hospitals in Bangkok, Thailand actually does an excellent job of serving such a diverse population.

The claim that doctors are "leaving" government hospitals for better pay in private hospitals is outright wrong. Giving doctors the freedom to move to different hospitals allows them to make a living and advance their knowledge while continuing to serve at government hospitals. I personally know some of the top oncologists in Thailand and despite receiving offers from large international hospitals, he continues to serve in his government cancer center while doing part-time gigs at international hospitals.

This benefits foreign and Thai patients alike. Doctors in Thailand that are not just after the money commonly work for both private and public hospitals and the knock-on effects of having access to leading edge treatments and technologies also benefits Thailand as a whole.

The entire premise that international tourism draws brain power from public hospitals is farce. In addition, when you are talking about the health care of a poor farmer, does this farmer really need to pay for a limestone tiled bathroom as part of his healthcare bill? The entire concept is ridiculous. Or, would you prefer international patients use small, Thai style bathrooms with no toilet paper?

I personally run a clinic aimed at foreign medical tourists but we set aside a portion of our revenue to treat Thais who cannot afford our leading-edge treatments. We are not a charity, but are a commercial operation. Without access to foreign patients we couldn't afford to treat the needy Thais.

How I wish you were representative of the rule rathr than the exception. I am a foreigner who has served on the faculty of many international Medical Schools (9?), written something like five textbooks, and have served as Senior Project Supervisor for one of the King's medical projects. I have a home upcountry as well as in Bangkok and have had unfettered access to the health-care system at all levels. I also have made use of the system at various levels for members of my own family, ranging from angioplasties, treatment of kidney stones, childbirth, and a host of minor ailments. It is my very strong opinion that the best of Thai medicine is far better than the worst of other countries, but it is NOT up to the level of the very best in the West. Not much good can be said about the provincial facilities at all beyond a dispensor of first aid, especially since they have been drained of anyone with even an average ability in order to feed the government sponsored medical monster of Bangkok that serves rich foreigners. As to the best of the best in Bangkok, perhaps a simple example will best communicate their status better than any analysis I could offer. These medical palaces - sometimes complete with a grand piano in the reception area - have beautiful new carpets, gleaming new equipment, and stunning nurses. What they lack is a committment to the welfare of the patient ahead of personal gain. These doctors have often been trained in the West and therefore know of proper procedures, but since they are rarely held personally accountable for their work, they demonstrate that doctors are just humans with an education. They have all the failings of car mechanics and used car salesmen, but are distinguished from these by thier advanced degrees. They ar enever ratd for compassion, or integrity, however, and more than school teachers, or housepainters. In othr words, some are good and some are bad.

My 86 year old father was on an extended visit here when he ate a hot dog and it got stuck in his throat. He could not swallow even his own saliva and had to carry a plastic bag with him to drool into. This also meant that he could not take even one of the dozen pills that were required each day to keep him alive. He went to the flagship hospital in all Thailand where the doctor performed a series of dangerous tests to determine that my dad could not swallow. (Duh!) Then the doctor pronounced that the blockage would probably clear itself up in a few days. He then said that if it had not cleared in five days and my dad were still alive he should return for further evaluation. The doctor than told my Thai wife in Thai that if he came back, she should please bring my dad to some other doctor since at 86 years old my dad's health was fragile and "anything could happen."

As a health professional I can tell you the treatment. 1) you give the patient a glass of water and ask him to swallow it. If he cannot, that means there is blockage. Use of radioactive contrast media as was used in the hospital here is extremely dangerous and unnecessary and would constitute malpractice inth USA. If my father hs coughed during th eprocedure he could have been thrown into immediat lung surgery. 2) if there is blockage, you then stick a camera down the patient's throat to see what the blockage is. 3) Once you see what is blocking the swallowing, you simply pull out the blockage and send the patient home. We're talking about a 30 minute total time in the hospital here. This is not rocket science. It i not eve second year medical school.

Ultimately my father had to be sent on a 26 hour airplane flight back to Florida to have this simple treatment performed. Had he listened to the doctor here he surely would have died either from dehydration or heart failure because of the lack of medications. Even the two days it took to get him to a doctor that cared more about the patient than his own treatment statistics was an extremely dangerous venture. We were not sure he woudl survive the trip.

Medical hub? World class treatment? You decide. Jut ask yourself how many medical professionals from around the world show up here for treatments, and you will begin to understand the true picture. How many say "I think instead of Switzerland (or Germany, or America, or Sweden, I'll go to Thailand because the treatment is so much better"? And then ask yourself how many people in this country with enough money to go to a private clinic even withtheir glaring weaknesses show up for their treatments at a provincial hospital. The question on the minds of those in he know is not whether the medical establishment here is worthy of being a major international hub, but rather whether treatment here is worse than no treatment at all (as was the case with my father). (Hint: the answer deepends on how serious the original problem is and how much care teh doctor must put into diagnosis and treatment.)

CAN it be better? Absolutely. But that will not happen until the individual doctors have to stand accountable for their treatments and mistreatments. As a practicioner in the West, I abhor the malpractice situation that has so engulfed the professions, but there mut be some other way to get the doctors to put the needs of the patient before their wallets, their boats, and their golf games.

Your logic is as failed as your warped sense of reality. How did you get through medical school without learning basic grammar, spelling, or proper medical terminology? You actually got paid to write medical texts?

I won't even address your farcical example of your father's blockage. In your "expert" medical opinion you decided it was necessary to put your 86 year old father on a 26 hour plane ride rather than just trying another hospital? Do you write non-fiction as well? You indicate a camera to inspect esophageal blockage with a full stomach? A 30 min. procedure? Give me a break! You are lucky you practice in Thailand and not US as you would have been sued and had your license revoked.

The fair point you addressed about the brain drain from rural Thailand to Bangkok is true, just as it is in the US or any other "Western" country.

Just because a doctor makes a decent salary means that all he cares about is his boat and his golf game? I don't know with what doctors you socialize with in Thailand (I don't deny that those types exist), but by far they are the exception rather than the rule. In fact, doctor's salaries in Thailand are not that high and I don't know too many doctors that even have a boat here.

Do you suppose that emulating US's malpractice laws will actually provide better care at lower costs in Thailand? One thing is for sure, the lawyers would sure love to have a piece of that part of the healthcare pie like their US brethren.

Thailand is now the world's number one medical tourism destination for good reason. Large US insurance companies reimburse their patients to come to Thailand for treatment because it is inept? In fact, I have MDs from all over the world come to our clinic for treatment.

If I needed surgery and I was free to chose where I received it, my number one choice would be Thailand, hands down.

[prefabs]

I recently had a check-up in Bangkok and the facilities and equipment are much better than you can get back in the UK. The prices are also very reasonable. This is how Thailand can become a medical hub.

You jaded ex-pats have no idea.

Speaking as one who has paid for treatment here, I would agree that it is better than UK National Health Service. I have also had private treatment in UK and can say that it is very similar to what we see here.

However, only a tiny fraction of Thais can afford the best hospitals, so I do not see how these well equipped hospitals benefit the Thai people as a whole.

[Beetlejuice]

None of this will be of any benefit for the ex pats.

Nothing will change, medical facilities are there if you have the money to pay and any Government subsidies or medical benefits will not be extended to farangs.

Unwritten discretely operated duel pricing medical fees between Thais and farangs will still continue.

So no point in raising your hopes just yet.

Next.