Need a Hospital Recommendation In/Near Rayong for Westerners

[jamhar]

Hi. I may have a case of DVT from traveling in those damned minibuses for long periods. I need a good hospital recommendation in the Rayong area. I've seen the Rayong Hospital in the city. Its close by to the city bus station. Any one have experience there? Has anyone have any experience with another hospital in the Rayong area?

[terrytan]

^{There is the Bangkok - Rayong Hospital , which is out of the city on the main Sukumvit Road heading towards Map Ta Phut}

^{Its is a well known hospital mainly for Thais with money or expats}

[terrytan]

Here is the link

http://www.bangkokrayong.com/en/

[jamhar]

Thanks TT. Any more recommendations out there?

[JusMe]

Although a minibus trip would not be welcomed advice, you could always catch the larger bus in to Bangkok for a better selection of better hospitals.

[mrtoad]

You could travel a bit further East and go to Sirivej Hospital in Chantaburi, which is a private hospital but is reasonably priced, and no foreigner surcharges.

[Soutpeel]

Bangkok-Rayong hospital...used it many times, always had good service there

[jamhar]

Sorry for the slow response guys, but my condition worsened,

and so i went to the only hospital that I was aware of. Which is the Rayong City Hospital.

The day started out with me going to the information booth right inside the entrance.

The 2 women there did not speak English well,

but one spoke enough to get me into the examination queue.

First to the "triage desk" where the nurse took my info,

then with a number went to the registration desk.

After the registration desk, i went to the examination area to wait to be called by name.

So far, the elapse time is under an hour.

At the examination area i waited for my name to be called

but it turns out that the girls at the registration desk had misspelled my name,

and the girls at the examination are did not know how to pronounce it ( i believe), so I never heard my name called

So after about an hour and a half, i went up to the desk to inquire

and my file was on top with the misspelled name.

NOTE, if you don't speak Thai, check with the nurse at the desk every 30 mins.

After that, things accelerated quickly

Saw the Dr, (who spoke English a bit) (30 mins)

Got the ultrasound (30 mins)

Back to the Dr (30 mins)

and as i was asking how long was this going to take because i wanted to catch the 6:30 boat back to the island

the nurse was attaching the hospital admittance band on my wrist

"what we have here is a failure to communicate!"

Anyhow i'm checked in, and getting IV and regular injection of blood thinners and anticoagulants.

I was about to ask for a private room, but right now i'm in an area with 11 other beds.

Some of the family of the other patients stay with their love ones, and its kinda nice to see kids running around playing

"Sometimes the seats in the bleachers are more fun than behind home plate"

So i think i'll stay in the General ward at the hospital. Who knows, maybe i can learn some Thai while i'm here

I figure this is just another part of the Thai journey i'm on. I'll report more later.

But as far as the hospital staff, and equipment, i have no issues with Rayong City Hospital.

Of course the nurse the patient ratio is low, but the nurses from what i can see, are competent.

The Dr's are all young, but again competent.

I dont know that i would prefer to come here for a surgical procedure.

I havent seen the surgical staff so i cant comment from experience.

But the Dr's I've seen are very young and i'd prefer a more seasoned surgeon.

but for any non invasive procedure requiring a hospital visit,

i wouldn't hesitate to come here again.

Next time i'll try the bangkok-rayong hospital and try to give a comparison

both the service and cost.

Thanks again Everyone.

[Soutpeel]

Next time i'll try the bangkok-rayong hospital and try to give a comparison

both the service and cost.

Thanks again Everyone.

Service at Bangkok-Rayong will be top notch, based on my experiences there, but if you dont have medical insurance one hopes you will be prepared for the bill, which will be significantly more than you will be paying at Rayong City Hospital

[jamhar]

Gotcha ST. I saw some of the prices charged so i believe i'll be visiting after i get my insurance, but i'll see if I can get a cost statement anyhow.

Update on my stay at the Rayong City Hospital Stay.

I'm pretty impressed with the nurses here. They are quite professional and competent. Theres not much of a casual stroll from them. They have places to go and patients to see. They walk with a purpose! I like it. My Dr speaks pretty decent English. I asked him about his english and he explained that he recently got back from Stanford for some post grad work. So we chatted about San Francisco,So Cal (southern california), nappa valley ect. So all in all, with the staff, the Dr's, the situation, its hard to complain. The admitting process was slow, but once the examination started, things moved rapidly.

One point of complaint could be the hospital food. On the weekend it was pretty bland. I think its because they had a stand in cook for the weekend. Once the week started the food is comparable to the street Thai food. Noodles with gravy one day, Pad thai the next day, rice with salted fish, ect. the food is blander than normal street food, but not bad.

I see one other felang here in the ward. He doesn't look happy. I recall seeing him with a Thai woman at his side one day. Maybe a thai wife? Maybe i'm making a snap judgement , but i dont think he would be happy anywhere. I have yet to see him smile. maybe i'll check to see if he speaks english. With my luck, he'll be russian!

This ward is a hoot! about 1/3 of the guys here have their family with them. and half of them stay with them the entire time! So there's kids, teenagers, and other family members around 60% of the time. I notice they clear out between 8AM and 10 AM (or sometimes around there) when the Dr make their daily rounds, then after that, they all pile back in here. There even several that stay overnight sleeping on straw mats next to their loved ones hospital bed! Sometimes you cant even walk in the because of all the family visiting. It certainly is different. and i can see its beneficial effect. the family really brings up the moral of the patients. Its hard not to smile when toddlers are playing on the straw mats. I like it.

The ward has sorta adopted me as their house "felang". (even tho i look thai) lol like a ward mascot. people offer me food, snacks, fruit. they make sure i don't miss a meal, wake me for showers and someone always has a change of hospital gowns for me when i wake up. They tease me quite a bit but i can see its all in fun. So i opted not to spend extra cash an stay in the ward. Like i said its been a hoot!

To me this is an example of some of the best of Thailand My fellow ward members and the staff have absolutely no gain from being nice to me. Yet, Most of the ward members and staff seem to go out of their way to make me feel more comfortable. Offering me treats, and attempting conversation (some of which can be truly comical), and doing what they can to make my stay just a little better. Even defending me from some other new Thai ward members that looked like they objected to some of the preferential treatment.

OK thats all for now. I'm in my last 48 hours in the ward, if everything goes well. I'll report more later. I still dont know how much this all will cost me but seeing that is mostly been a couple of injections a day for 3 days, and pills the other days, i'm hoping its reasonable lol (knock on wood).

More later gang.

[jamhar]

Update,

Today's lunch was fried chicken, rice and a turnip soup. <deleted>!!?? Fried chicken? for hospital food?

Dont ask, dont tell, just eat

OKOK, so only the relatively more healthy patients got the fried chicken,

most of the other patients got the usual bland rice soup because of their dietary restrictions.

Still it was nice to get some chicken!

Also and update on the cost.

So far for the 4 days in the hospital, albeit most of it has been for observations

The untrasound, 2 injections of anticoagulant per/day for 3 days,

and followed by oral anticoagulant for the remainder

the total comes out to be

5000 baht

You cant get the admissions form filled out in the US for $160. ARE YOU KIDDING ME??

For life threatening situations, i think i'd still rather be in the US health system

or for athletic type repairs

but for the 95% of the times hospital care is necessary,

give me Thai medical system any day.

5000 baht?

Hard to beat that one.

[RoyDee]

Hi Jamhar - my Thai brother-in-law was admitted to Bangkok-Rayong hospital last year for observations. Room rate+food rate (without any medical treatment) was about 4,000 Baht/day in a standard room, rising to 5,000 Baht/day in executive suite and increasing in 2,000 Baht increments in VIP, Ambassador and President suites. Rates may well have risen by now. As Soutpeel mentioned, treatment is top notch, but you pay for it! (My b-i-l was fully covered by his company).

Re fried chicken: the best hospital in Thailand (Bumrungrad in Bangkok) has a McDonalds inside ... as the Thais say "no problem"!

Hope nothing serious and you come out with an all clear. Best of luck.

[Soutpeel]

Hi Jamhar - my Thai brother-in-law was admitted to Bangkok-Rayong hospital last year for observations. Room rate+food rate (without any medical treatment) was about 4,000 Baht/day in a standard room, rising to 5,000 Baht/day in executive suite and increasing in 2,000 Baht increments in VIP, Ambassador and President suites. Rates may well have risen by now. As Soutpeel mentioned, treatment is top notch, but you pay for it! (My b-i-l was fully covered by his company).

Re fried chicken: the best hospital in Thailand (Bumrungrad in Bangkok) has a McDonalds inside ... as the Thais say "no problem"!

Hope nothing serious and you come out with an all clear. Best of luck.

funny you mention McDonalds....when I was in Bangkok Rayong for surgery....they actually asked if I wanted McDonalds/KFC or Pizza ordered and sent over to hosptial, found it quite a amusing that a hosptial was asking if I wanted junk food.. LOL

[jamhar]

Thanks for the info RoyDee/Soutpeel.

A McD's inside the hospital! I would have given my left nutt for some of that!

I did see some of the local families bringing daily picnics to see their loved ones on the ward. It was quite touching actually.

Alas the Rayong city hospital had no McD's inside so my manhood is still intact

but the RCH did have an interesting cafeteria. When I saw the sign for the cafeteria, i was expecting a normal hospital cafeteria with mostly healthy or healthy conscious foods, but instead it turned out to be a 7 booth version of street food. One of which was a fruit stand where i spent most of my time. But they had a noodle shop, roast chicken and pork with rice shop, and others. pretty cool. and prices were very reasonable.

PS i was finally discharged with follow up outpatient care scheduled for the future. My experience was mostly a positive one at the RCH. Only a few negatives. a) Almost no one spoke english but hey, i'm a guest in a foreign hospital, that is designed to serve the native community, so cant complain much there. b )My hospital bed was incredibly hard and uncomfortable, but see the end of "a" as a rebuttal to my whining. c) almost got no sleep because of the lights and traffic thru the "elevator ward". but see the end of "a and "b" in regards to whining. I'm just lucky they had room for my sorry ass.

The positives are too may to mention and topped off by less than 1000baht/night of hospital stay which includes radiology, blood monitoring, daily medication, ect. I must be part Scott, because I'm finding it very difficult to see any negatives after a savings like that!

My thanks to the hospital staff on the third floor of the surgical wing at Rayong City Hospital!

PS, on my next visit, I was thinking of taking a cake or some deserts for the ward staff. Does anyone know if this is taboo, or am i breaking some thai custom?

[steve187]

thank you for sharing, no problem with the gift

[jamhar]

This farang is humbled again!

I went to the hospital yesterday for a checkup

I was thinking about switching to an international hospital just for the conveniece

but the Rayong has my history, and i'm feeling sorta loyal to it.

Anyhow I was at the hospital for 4 long hours in the waiting que

and was feeling fustrated.

I finally got up and told the nurse, i'm leaving and going to the private hospital.

the nurse replied, " Please wait, just one more hour" "maybe get a bite to eat?"

So I did, and a little more than one hour later, i was called. and went in to see the Dr.

It turns out that I had missed my appointment the day before

and my Dr is only at the hospital once a week

but he put a note in my file that he should be called whenever I came in

because he didnt want anyone to miss my condition.

So he left whatever he was doing that day, just to come down to treat me

All this because he cared, and on a Thai government dr salary

You talk about egg on my face

I am humbled by my Dr's professionalism.

[blue eyes]

Just thought people would like to see the food in the Thai hospital.

[jamhar]

Well.....

As much as i like my hospital experiences

I have to say that is not what the food looked at my ward.

And actually your thai experience would tell you that if you think about it.

Thai's do not eat that much per person per sitting. Thai's eat small portions several times a day.

Typically; on my ward atleast, the food cart arrives 3 times a day.

They have multi sectioned trays like the one pictured on the right

and some in individual bowls, like the left.

I was only offered the multisectional tray meals

the trays are stored empty on the cart when they arrive, and there's one to 3 large pots of food

and the food attendant fills the slots with today's choices.

It can be as simple as a single serving of rice porridge for breakfast.

or once i had a small (and i mean tiny) grilled fish, rice, and stewed veggies for dinner.

Very simple, but health, and Thia portions.

They will give you as much as you want if you're still hungry.

I opted for no extra portions, but went down stairs to the food court just outside the building

It looks like on Tuesdays, they have sidewalk vendors also, along with some swap meet type goods.

The sidewalk vendors have some pretty good food stuff.

But back to the hospital food pictures, I can say, the food on my floor never looked like that

Still worth eating and its good healthy food, but not like that.

[Issangeorge]

I have recently spent a lot of time in a Thai Government Hospital including four surgerirs

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[Issangeorge]

Sorry duplicate post.

[Issangeorge]

I have recently spent a lot of time in a Thai Government Hospital including four surgeries and I only have praise for them. My only complaint is the bed is just to hard for my bones, but for the difference between the cost at a government hospital and a private hospital I could afford to buy my own luxury hospital bed and still save thousands of baht if not hundreds of thousands of baht.

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