Phuket Hospitals - My Experience & Cost Comparison To Hospitals Up North

[stevenl]

What ever you do in Phuket as farang you are going to get screwed. So maybe you should forget about going to the hospital frequently and staying at home. Or the best cost solution is the government hospital. Phuket is for the rich farangs to get screwed and it is not restricted to the hospitals. Bring on the money!

I never realised you were so vindictive Don.

[Jimi007]

What ever you do in Phuket as farang you are going to get screwed. So maybe you should forget about going to the hospital frequently and staying at home. Or the best cost solution is the government hospital. Phuket is for the rich farangs to get screwed and it is not restricted to the hospitals. Bring on the money!

I never realised you were so vindictive Don.

LOL! He is a bit of a grouchy old man at times. But, he's right. The greed here is out of control. Just like the government and the corrupt land titles that keep surfacing and getting buried again.

[stevenl]

What ever you do in Phuket as farang you are going to get screwed. So maybe you should forget about going to the hospital frequently and staying at home. Or the best cost solution is the government hospital. Phuket is for the rich farangs to get screwed and it is not restricted to the hospitals. Bring on the money!

I never realised you were so vindictive Don.

LOL! He is a bit of a grouchy old man at times. But, he's right. The greed here is out of control. Just like the government and the corrupt land titles that keep surfacing and getting buried again.

No, he is completely wrong. To state 'whatever you din Phuket as a farang you're going to get screwed' and 'Phuekt is for the rich farangs to get screwed' is simply not true.

[chiang mai]

Don's statement may not be 100% accurate 100% of the time but in the vast majority he's absolutely spot on, from my experience, particualarly when it comes to health care at BPH and/or PI, the debate on the quality of that care is another whole subject in its own right.

[stevenl]

Don's statement may not be 100% accurate 100% of the time but in the vast majority he's absolutely spot on, from my experience, particualarly when it comes to health care at BPH and/or PI, the debate on the quality of that care is another whole subject in its own right.

While I don't agree with you, my experiences are completely different, I think your post is excellent to get us back on track, which is healthcare on Phuket.

[IrishIvan]

If the price of healthcare in Phuket is so outrageous then catch a 600 baht bus to Bangkok and get the work done there

Edited March 17, 2013 by IrishIvan

[keestha]

Vachira has medical specialists in all fields, but they are all very young, fresh from university. They are obliged to work a few years in a public hospital, before moving on to a far better paid job at a private hospital. Of course when Daddy can pay this can be avoided.

I went to Vachira for a root channel treatment, and I was attended to by two young female medical specialists, real stunners, obviously freshly graduated. But they informed me I had to wait for one week and I was in considerable pain, so I went to the BPH where they have a good dental department. Vachira is far too crowded.

[xylophone]

A quick update for those still following this thread and it has to do with my dissatisfaction with Phuket International Hospital, even though I had made it my hospital of choice in the past. However this has been slowly changing due to the increase in costs, which I think I posted about earlier on. I have no problem with increasing costs to match inflation or improved services, however I do object to an increase in costs over and above what is considered the norm, in addition to a decrease in service, so I may well give Bangkok Phuket Hospital another try next time round.

I have been putting up with some fairly hefty charges (4 to 5,000 baht) when seeing a doctor for sinusitis at PIH, although I did put this down to the medications he was providing although we all know we can buy them cheaper outside of the hospital. However on my last visit I was extremely surprised to get a bill for 1600 baht for an appointment lasting a little over 6 minutes, with no medication involved and when I queried the bill it became evident that I was charged 800 baht for the appointment and 800 baht for the use of equipment!!!

Now this equipment consisted of a very thin probe screwed to the end of a flexible tube which was in turn connected to a small television screen. This enabled the Dr to poke around inside of my nose and see if there was any swelling or anything untoward, which there wasn't. Total time spent in probing around was about 1 min in each nostril, and of course the probe is reusable, so a charge of 800 baht for this seemed a little extortionate.

It's a bit like going to see your doctor and him charging you 800 baht for the appointment, and 800 baht for the use of his stethoscope, because after all that is the instrument he is using to assist in his diagnosis.

I am not concerned with the amount, more the principal of the charge as a way of gaining more revenue.

In addition to this I arrived 10 min early for my appointment and was ushered in to see the doctor some 40 min after my appointment time, which I was not too happy about.

The more one compares the BPH to the PIH the more one sees the vast gap in service, and a look at the food facilities available really makes you think about the management of the hospitals............at BPH you can select from a variety of relatively healthy foods or have a really healthy sandwich made up from fresh produce OR at the PIH you can select from a range of fat laden, sugar loaded, unhealthy foods with not one single choice of anything remotely healthy available. What does that say about their attitude towards health?

Let us know what your bill from BPH for the same service. I thinking it will be a bit more.

Hopefully the sinuses will behave for a while, but I do intend to try the BPH for a visit, should they not............so I will update you on this, provided I remember!!!

[Jimi007]

A quick update for those still following this thread and it has to do with my dissatisfaction with Phuket International Hospital, even though I had made it my hospital of choice in the past. However this has been slowly changing due to the increase in costs, which I think I posted about earlier on. I have no problem with increasing costs to match inflation or improved services, however I do object to an increase in costs over and above what is considered the norm, in addition to a decrease in service, so I may well give Bangkok Phuket Hospital another try next time round.

I have been putting up with some fairly hefty charges (4 to 5,000 baht) when seeing a doctor for sinusitis at PIH, although I did put this down to the medications he was providing although we all know we can buy them cheaper outside of the hospital. However on my last visit I was extremely surprised to get a bill for 1600 baht for an appointment lasting a little over 6 minutes, with no medication involved and when I queried the bill it became evident that I was charged 800 baht for the appointment and 800 baht for the use of equipment!!!

Now this equipment consisted of a very thin probe screwed to the end of a flexible tube which was in turn connected to a small television screen. This enabled the Dr to poke around inside of my nose and see if there was any swelling or anything untoward, which there wasn't. Total time spent in probing around was about 1 min in each nostril, and of course the probe is reusable, so a charge of 800 baht for this seemed a little extortionate.

It's a bit like going to see your doctor and him charging you 800 baht for the appointment, and 800 baht for the use of his stethoscope, because after all that is the instrument he is using to assist in his diagnosis.

I am not concerned with the amount, more the principal of the charge as a way of gaining more revenue.

In addition to this I arrived 10 min early for my appointment and was ushered in to see the doctor some 40 min after my appointment time, which I was not too happy about.

The more one compares the BPH to the PIH the more one sees the vast gap in service, and a look at the food facilities available really makes you think about the management of the hospitals............at BPH you can select from a variety of relatively healthy foods or have a really healthy sandwich made up from fresh produce OR at the PIH you can select from a range of fat laden, sugar loaded, unhealthy foods with not one single choice of anything remotely healthy available. What does that say about their attitude towards health?

Let us know what your bill from BPH for the same service. I thinking it will be a bit more.

Hopefully the sinuses will behave for a while, but I do intend to try the BPH for a visit, should they not............so I will update you on this, provided I remember!!!

Thanks! I hope you're over your sinus problem and won't have to go to either place. Best wishes, Jimi.

[xylophone]

A quick update for those still following this thread and it has to do with my dissatisfaction with Phuket International Hospital, even though I had made it my hospital of choice in the past. However this has been slowly changing due to the increase in costs, which I think I posted about earlier on. I have no problem with increasing costs to match inflation or improved services, however I do object to an increase in costs over and above what is considered the norm, in addition to a decrease in service, so I may well give Bangkok Phuket Hospital another try next time round.

I have been putting up with some fairly hefty charges (4 to 5,000 baht) when seeing a doctor for sinusitis at PIH, although I did put this down to the medications he was providing although we all know we can buy them cheaper outside of the hospital. However on my last visit I was extremely surprised to get a bill for 1600 baht for an appointment lasting a little over 6 minutes, with no medication involved and when I queried the bill it became evident that I was charged 800 baht for the appointment and 800 baht for the use of equipment!!!

Now this equipment consisted of a very thin probe screwed to the end of a flexible tube which was in turn connected to a small television screen. This enabled the Dr to poke around inside of my nose and see if there was any swelling or anything untoward, which there wasn't. Total time spent in probing around was about 1 min in each nostril, and of course the probe is reusable, so a charge of 800 baht for this seemed a little extortionate.

It's a bit like going to see your doctor and him charging you 800 baht for the appointment, and 800 baht for the use of his stethoscope, because after all that is the instrument he is using to assist in his diagnosis.

I am not concerned with the amount, more the principal of the charge as a way of gaining more revenue.

In addition to this I arrived 10 min early for my appointment and was ushered in to see the doctor some 40 min after my appointment time, which I was not too happy about.

The more one compares the BPH to the PIH the more one sees the vast gap in service, and a look at the food facilities available really makes you think about the management of the hospitals............at BPH you can select from a variety of relatively healthy foods or have a really healthy sandwich made up from fresh produce OR at the PIH you can select from a range of fat laden, sugar loaded, unhealthy foods with not one single choice of anything remotely healthy available. What does that say about their attitude towards health?

Bumrungrad offers its patients and visitors room service from McDonalds on the first floor of the hospital, what does that tell you!

Compared to the crap available at PIH, it is a veritable feast of healthly food!!

[DonaldBattles]

Food in all Thai hospitals consist of low class hog slop unless you pay to have something brought in from the outside. The reason for this is the corruption that holds the purchasing staff for each room. This includes all of the hospitals in Phuket.

[xylophone]

Food in all Thai hospitals consist of low class hog slop unless you pay to have something brought in from the outside. The reason for this is the corruption that holds the purchasing staff for each room. This includes all of the hospitals in Phuket.

Sorry for unintentionally misleading folk............I was referring to the food available in the in-house cafe/shop in PIH.

[KarenBravo]

What ever you do in Phuket as farang you are going to get screwed. So maybe you should forget about going to the hospital frequently and staying at home. Or the best cost solution is the government hospital. Phuket is for the rich farangs to get screwed and it is not restricted to the hospitals. Bring on the money!

You seem to have got very bitter about Phuket since you left.

Could this be related to your business and missus problems?

For those of us not engaged in business, Phuket is still IMO the best place to live in Thailand.......make that SE Asia.

[schlog]

Had yesterday again a CT in BPH. Pleasant as every time and the same price now for aprox. 4 years. No price increase for the same good service. If you need a really good lung doctor bm me.

To have a good hospital like the BPH is one of the many pros of Phuket. For tasty food i prefer such locations as Spicy Duck or Mom Tri............