Bt300 Wage Forces Bangkok's Siriraj Hospital To Hike Fees

[chooka]

"Siriraj Hospital plans to hike its fees this year after shouldering an additional Bt800 million in wage costs"

How many employees do they have on the 300 baht wage? (1,500 per week) There has to be a lot to push up there wage costs by 800 million.

The umbrella also covers all degree holders to earn 15k p/m minimum.

"850 physicians, 7,500 nurses and 2,000 nurse assistants"

Many of the last two are probably degree'd and were earning less than 15k.

Hmmmmmm.................

Basic International Salary Report

Summary

The Nurse Registered working in All Thailand, All Thailand now earns an average annual salary of 1,656,857. Half of those in this position would earn between 1,270,809 and 1,951,777(the 17th and 67th percentiles). These numbers are derived from real, area specific, survey data.

(Note: These are conservative government estimates.))

When benefits and bonuses are added to this salary, the average total compensation for this position would be 1,718,705. The report below also explains how the cost of living in this location affects the actual value of this salary.

Estimates as of 23-Jan-2013. Currency in Thai Baht.

Source data is derived from non-copyrighted government salary surveys from each country's National Labor/Statistics Office

Newly graduated Non registered nurses, such as auxilliary nurses were being offered minimum salaries of Bt20,000 a month in addition to cash incentives and generous educational subsidies as was reported by the Nation in 2011.

Not everyone in Thailand works for a minimum, especially when it is estimated that Thailand needs another 40,000 nurses.

There is a skilled labour shortage in Thailand. I don't think foreigners quite understand this, unless they are related to a business that relies on skilled labour or have international business experience.

This is really hard to believe.

Nurses making 150,000 Baht a month on average across all of Thailand? I'd be surprised if that was even the average wage for doctors.

If this were true then nurses would all be turning up to work in Benzes and they'd be the most desirable women in Thailand to a huge number of the local men.

And why would any Thai go for any other degree when you can get an average salary of 150k with a 3 year nursing degree?

Its just not plausible

I meet nurses every now and then in discos and night clubs in Bangkok. They work at Bumrungrad and the like. They are NOT on 150k a month!

That's about the same wage for a nurse in Australia. If they are 40,000 nurses short why don't they recruit from abroad for say 2 yr contracts, you would have foreign nurses jumping at it for those wages. My nephew is a nurse and he is only on 30k baht a month but then he is only in a public hospital

[Thai at Heart]

"Siriraj Hospital plans to hike its fees this year after shouldering an additional Bt800 million in wage costs"

How many employees do they have on the 300 baht wage? (1,500 per week) There has to be a lot to push up there wage costs by 800 million.

The umbrella also covers all degree holders to earn 15k p/m minimum.

"850 physicians, 7,500 nurses and 2,000 nurse assistants"

Many of the last two are probably degree'd and were earning less than 15k.

Hmmmmmm.................

Basic International Salary Report

Summary

The Nurse Registered working in All Thailand, All Thailand now earns an average annual salary of 1,656,857. Half of those in this position would earn between 1,270,809 and 1,951,777(the 17th and 67th percentiles). These numbers are derived from real, area specific, survey data.

(Note: These are conservative government estimates.))

When benefits and bonuses are added to this salary, the average total compensation for this position would be 1,718,705. The report below also explains how the cost of living in this location affects the actual value of this salary.

Estimates as of 23-Jan-2013. Currency in Thai Baht.

Source data is derived from non-copyrighted government salary surveys from each country's National Labor/Statistics Office

Newly graduated Non registered nurses, such as auxilliary nurses were being offered minimum salaries of Bt20,000 a month in addition to cash incentives and generous educational subsidies as was reported by the Nation in 2011.

Not everyone in Thailand works for a minimum, especially when it is estimated that Thailand needs another 40,000 nurses.

There is a skilled labour shortage in Thailand. I don't think foreigners quite understand this, unless they are related to a business that relies on skilled labour or have international business experience.

some decimal points in the wrong place i believe.

[mrtoad]

"Siriraj Hospital plans to hike its fees this year after shouldering an additional Bt800 million in wage costs"

How many employees do they have on the 300 baht wage? (1,500 per week) There has to be a lot to push up there wage costs by 800 million.

When the wages go up at the bottom, you'll then find that the middle and top wage earners will also want their increases.

[hellodolly]

"Siriraj Hospital plans to hike its fees this year after shouldering an additional Bt800 million in wage costs"

How many employees do they have on the 300 baht wage? (1,500 per week) There has to be a lot to push up there wage costs by 800 million.

The umbrella also covers all degree holders to earn 15k p/m minimum.

"850 physicians, 7,500 nurses and 2,000 nurse assistants"

Many of the last two are probably degree'd and were earning less than 15k.

Hmmmmmm.................

Basic International Salary Report

Summary

The Nurse Registered working in All Thailand, All Thailand now earns an average annual salary of 1,656,857. Half of those in this position would earn between 1,270,809 and 1,951,777(the 17th and 67th percentiles). These numbers are derived from real, area specific, survey data.

(Note: These are conservative government estimates.))

When benefits and bonuses are added to this salary, the average total compensation for this position would be 1,718,705. The report below also explains how the cost of living in this location affects the actual value of this salary.

Estimates as of 23-Jan-2013. Currency in Thai Baht.

Source data is derived from non-copyrighted government salary surveys from each country's National Labor/Statistics Office

Newly graduated Non registered nurses, such as auxilliary nurses were being offered minimum salaries of Bt20,000 a month in addition to cash incentives and generous educational subsidies as was reported by the Nation in 2011.

Not everyone in Thailand works for a minimum, especially when it is estimated that Thailand needs another 40,000 nurses.

There is a skilled labour shortage in Thailand. I don't think foreigners quite understand this, unless they are related to a business that relies on skilled labour or have international business experience.

Convert this to why my step doughtier a nurses aid did not get a raise.

[bangon04]

"Edit to add personal comment: Hello Dean of the medical faculty: Perhaps you should consider picking up some of the costs that your students create. The hospital provides the intern and residency positions for your medical school. The university is collecting the fees. It will be interesting to see if Mahidol shares some of those fees with the hospital.

Edited by geriatrickid, Today, 09:51 ."

Who owns Mahidol?

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Re nurse's aides (as opposed to nurses) in Thailand...

My ex is and has been for some years a full-time nurse's aide at several of the middle range private hospitals in BKK...

For starters, from everything I could discern being around her work, nurse's aides seemed to far outnumber actual RN nurses. In her outpatient department, for example, there were a total of 3 or 4 RNs, compared with a dozen or more nurse's aides.

And, my ex worked and works as a nurse's aide while never having attended university or earned a bachelor's degree, only a high school degree followed by a year or two at a "nursing school" before she started her first job. So my presumption is that nurse's aides in Thailand are by no means required to have university degrees.

As for salary, after working in her field for a decade or so, she was earning a base salary in BKK of about 12,000 baht per month plus overtime (12 hour days were typical) that brought her monthly total to about 14,000, at least as of last year. And that was after having worked at the same BKK private hospital for the past 4 years in the same nurse's aide position.

[noob7]

With an average of 150k/month for the nurses, I'm wondering, why the hospitals still have so many motorcycle parking spaces.

Minimum the private hospitals, for good paying insurances and wealthy patients don't need to expect their patients arrive on a bike, right?

[siampolee]

Basic International Salary Report

Summary

The Nurse Registered working in All Thailand, All Thailand now earns an average annual salary of 1,656,857. Half of those in this position would earn between 1,270,809 and 1,951,777(the 17th and 67th percentiles). These numbers are derived from real, area specific, survey data.

(Note: These are conservative government estimates.))

When benefits and bonuses are added to this salary, the average total compensation for this position would be 1,718,705. The report below also explains how the cost of living in this location affects the actual value of this salary.

Estimates as of 23-Jan-2013. Currency in Thai Baht.

Source data is derived from non-copyrighted government salary surveys from each country's National Labor/Statistics Office

Fine words quoted by G.K. however perhaps note should be taken of the following words.

(Note: These are conservative government estimates.))

Perchance creative accounting practices along with decimal points being moved ( inadvertently ? ) to the left may well project a somewhat rosy image which in truth is far from the truth.

[utalkin2me]

Now we get to pay more for the ill-subscribed antibiotics, but hey, we still get the same great price to pay the crappy doctor's hourly "consultation" (ie, here are some antibiotics, come back in a week) fees.

[falang07]

I wonder why "The policy to use domestically made generic drugs rather than imported drugs had also cost the hospital around Bt1 billion in income last year, Udom said.", it should be the exact opposite...

[falang07]

So they would rather sell the patients expensive imported drugs instead of domestically made generics (which contain the same, non-inferior active ingredients) just to make more on the margin? Sick as it gets..

[noob7]

So they would rather sell the patients expensive imported drugs instead of domestically made generics (which contain the same, non-inferior active ingredients) just to make more on the margin? Sick as it gets..

Someone 'needs' to earn money with importing all this stuff, methinks.

I guess, in case the ownership of the involved companies get checked, there are no surprises to expect: Always the same names!

[geriatrickid]

The salary scales are available from multiple public sources and actuarial firms.

Part of the problem in this discussion is that there is confusion over who or what is a nurse. Technically, a nurse is an RN. This means that the person is a graduate of a degree granting university and undergone field training and has some experience. Often these professionals also have advanced training. A nurse's aide, a practical nurse and all the other euphemisms are not nurses. It is like calling the maintenance guy a building "engineer". He is not. He is a trained handyman.

Administrative nurses at hospitals typically start out at 25,000 baht/month. They do not go near patients, but process files and "supervise" activities such as billing or housekeeping. If it is a profitable private hospital they can earn 30-50,000 baht a month if they have some experience. Many of the people being called nurses are not nurses, i.e the I have a sister in law that's a "nurse" at a hospital and she makes B 12,000 Baht a month. Well, that is because she is actually an attendant/orderly when it comes to the real job classification.

I know some people will be incredulous when I write that RNs in North America can make between $100,000 and $150,000. when the overtime and bonuses are taken into account. That is why a salary of $40,000 (B1,200,000) in Thailand is not far fetched.

The junior GPs in larger cities usually are coming in with a salary of between B3million and B4million. This is why there is a shortage of GPs in the rural public hospitals. The same holds for the RNs. There is a mahor salary gap between BKK private hospitals and the public rural hospitals. Many foreigners are relying on antecdotal discussions with relatives living outside of the fight zone, and yes there is a bidding war for qualified medical staff. Some of the private hospitals are offering signing bonuses for physicians and nurses.

There is a myth in western countries that nurses are underpaid. They are for the most part not. This perception prejudices people when they look at the situation in Thailand. I know it is hard to believe, but there is a large portion of medical personnel making some very good salaries in Thailand, significantly nbetter than what many westerners think they earn. The salary guides from Mercer, Adecco, and other professional groups that monitor such things are not that far off.

[geriatrickid]

Fine words quoted by G.K. however perhaps note should be taken of the following words.

(Note: These are conservative government estimates.))

Perchance creative accounting practices along with decimal points being moved ( inadvertently ? ) to the left may well project a somewhat rosy image which in truth is far from the truth.

Feel free to Google it. If they are wrong, so be it. However, the firms that specialize in tracking salaries, show similar numbers.

[2008bangkok]

It's kind of sad that these company don't pay there staff enough in the first place, 1500 baht is a measly amount to pay somebody to work for a week

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Administrative nurses at hospitals typically start out at 25,000 baht/month. They do not go near patients, but process files and "supervise" activities such as billing or housekeeping. If it is a profitable private hospital they can earn 30-50,000 baht a month if they have some experience.

The RN medical nurses at my ex's private hospital in BKK, a medium sized one and part of a well-known chain, were earning 25,000 to 35,000 baht per month, and that was including the basically mandatory overtime hours. The ones I knew weren't brand new nurses, but rather, ones with some years of experience... 5+.

If they thought they had the opportunity to earn 50,000 a month at another private hospital in BKK just on the basis of being a qualified RN, I'm sure they would have been leaving in droves... They weren't.

I'm talking about those working in the outpatient departments, working with doctors there and overseeing the department and nurse's aides. I can't and wouldn't say whether that same range would apply to more advanced duties like ER and operating theater nurses.

Edited January 24, 2013 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[Hugo6]

Ridiculous story.

I have a feeling that the hike in rates will more than cover the increase in salaries. The 300 baht is for MINIMUM wage employees. If the management want to hike for everyone, one would have to conclude they were underpaying everyone before.

dude, I agree.

they also talked about the 15,000 for university graduates and not just the minimum wage.

on the other hand a quick reality check on their math shows that 800,000,000B extra wages spent on 5,000 employees (the higher of their range of affected employees) divided by 12 months leads to 800,000,000B/5000E/12M = 13,333B/month additional wage increase for each employee (average, of course).

So they paid every minimum wage and university grad an average of +13,333 more every month. Really?

Could it just be bad journalism?