Quickest way to get to good hospital in emergency in BKK?

[ThomasAJ]

I'm healthy but I am 62 and anything is maybe around the corner.

Ideally, and I have not even researched this in Australia (my main place of residence), is there a service supplied by a hospital in BKK whereby for example one becomes a 'member' (for a fee of course) and in the event of an emergency all one has to do is hit a whatever on ones mobile (or even better they supply a special device) and an ambulance arrives.

Eg my wife has a heart attack and I click on the appropriate whatever and help arrives.

Any such thing?

Thanks

Tom

[Costas2008]

Don't know about a button, but the quickest way to get attention is ring 1669.

This is the ambulance Emergency services and they have a good response time all over Thailand.

Hope you never need to ring them, but keep that number.

[eeeya]

Thanks Costas.. handy to know. Ive always thought about this but never acted on it

[lopburi3]

You are aware of Bangkok traffic? In almost all cases getting a local taxi or your own driving would get you to medical facilities faster that waiting for an ambulance to arrive, even if they could even find your address without issues.

If not time sensitive you can call for ambulance service from hospital of your choice - but have never heard of any panic button systems.

[ThomasAJ]

You are aware of Bangkok traffic? In almost all cases getting a local taxi or your own driving would get you to medical facilities faster that waiting for an ambulance to arrive, even if they could even find your address without issues.

If not time sensitive you can call for ambulance service from hospital of your choice - but have never heard of any panic button systems.

Yes indeed and that is what scares me in particular as per this issue (eg heart attack).

So I was hoping that maybe if one pays enough $s to "be a member" that a chopper might be sent.

OK I do realize I am probably maybe dreaming...

[ThomasAJ]

Don't know about a button, but the quickest way to get attention is ring 1669.

This is the ambulance Emergency services and they have a good response time all over Thailand.

Hope you never need to ring them, but keep that number.

Thanks for the number.

But of course in an emergency time is of the utmost importance.

Given traffic congestion, even if the patient is near the BKK CBD...

I just cannot figure out who responds and where is one taken to?

By "who responds" I understand It's an ambulance but I have heard that the quality of staff/speed varies dramatically.

In a heart attack situation it's absolutely critical the ambo ER team know proper procedures etc etc

Further discussion please as this is at the 'heart' of the matter.

Thanks

Tom

[uhuh]

Reminds me of the guy who years ago had a heart attack in soi 15

20 min walking distance from Bumrungrad hospital

It took about 2 hours until the ambulance arrived

He died

Edited January 18, 2015 by uhuh

[lopburi3]

If our time is done so be it. I am well above 62 and not going to fret about it enough to give myself a heart attack.

We live here to avoid such worries.

Nothing wrong in making plans and knowing what is available - but do not believe there will be any choppers standing by - this is not a friendly city for such usage (with overhead wires everywhere and few landing options).

[Issangeorge]

If you are really worried about getting to a hospital quickly, your probably better off to live in another city close to a hospital. How about close to the Khon Kaen University Hospital.

[Sheryl]

There is no service such as you describe, but it is possible to call an ambulance from any of the various hospitals. Suggest you select a doctor(s) and hospital and keep the ambulance number in your phone and posted in your house.

However, as others have said, it is best to just get a taxi if at all possible. You will not get much by way of care in the ambulance and you lose extra time waiting for it to arrive.

I am assuming you live in Bangkok. If you live elsewhere you would do well to think in terms of which hospital to go to first for stabilization before transfer to a Bangkok hospital.

[bluebluewater]

I watched a guy spill out of his bar stool with a major heart attack one night. The branch of the Bangkok Hospital system here where I live is 10 minutes away at best. It took 25 minutes for the ambulance to arrive. And this is not a high traffic area. No cabs here at all. Friends provided CPR and he lives to tell the tale. I know of another fellow who collapsed and then got hauled to the community hospital but because they weren't sure of payment really did FA for him and he died the next morning.

I too wonder what the heck I or any of us would do to try to get the hospital in such situations. I do not have a good answer. The answer is you just got to live long enough to get to a hospital and then, maybe, you will provided care.

[pchansmorn]

I would suggest that if you worry about this kind of situation, that you move closer to a private hospital, get a Doctor there have all your information on file there and then try to stay healthy. Make sure you keep up on yearly physicals and blood tests, so you don't get any surprises, if you have to take a car make it a Taxi, they are the only ones who know how to get though the traffic.

[Xonax]

If you are registred with Bangkok Hospital, they will record your GPS position, so that the ambulance will always easily be able to find your home. In case of emergency, they will send a motorbike-ambulance ahead of the ambulance, if first aid is needed.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

In BKK, the larger, most prominent farang hospitals (Bumrungrad, BNH, Bangkok, and others) all operate their own private ambulance services. So you call them, and they supposedly will send one of their ambulances (for a price).

At least in Bumrungrad's case, you can go to their Ambulance department in advance and give them your address and location.map information, which they claim they will keep on file in the event you call them in the future.

However, none of addresses two critical points:

1. What kind of response times do those services have in real world situations? I've never heard any reliable info about that.

2. Depending on how far away you are from the hospital at the time, is BKK traffic going to make it a non-starter regardless.

An important issue to understand here is, unlike the West, Thai have no custom (or apparently law) for drivers to pull over or make way for ambulances on emergency calls. I can't count the number of times I've seen ambulances in BKK with their lights flashing and sirens blaring, sitting stuck in traffic no moving and no drivers around them doing anything to help them pass.

As for the government's 1669 hotline, I don't know, but I'm assuming that will lead to them sending one of the pickup truck "ambulances" where they throw you in the back and take off for who knows where. The same guys who get into fights with each other over the rights to snare accident victims.

Best bet I'd say, is simply to plan to live close to some kind of hospital with a 24 hour emergency room so that if you ever have an emergency, a regular taxi can get you there in relatively short order.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

If you are registred with Bangkok Hospital, they will record your GPS position, so that the ambulance will always easily be able to find your home. In case of emergency, they will send a motorbike-ambulance ahead of the ambulance, if first aid is needed.

Ahh... good to know... So Bangkok Hospital also has an advance registration system similar to Bumrungrad.

Re Bumrungrad, I'd never heard or read anything about it here. So one day, I went to their Ambulance Department and simply asked, and they said sure enough, gave me a form to fill out and asked me to hand draw a map showing the location of my home and how to get there.

But I probably live only about a 10 minute drive from the hospital. And if I was at all able, I'd probably plan to take a taxi if at all possible since it almost certainly would be the quickest method. But there certainly could be some situation where I might not be mobile enough to get loaded into a taxi. So I figured I'd prepare with Bumrungrad just in case.

[KhnomKhnom]

I have investigated this matter over the last three years.

My cardiologist at Bumrungrad says, "Just go to the nearest hospital." Because I am 71 and fat, he wrote me off as soon-dead long ago.

I asked him about a helicopter emergency delivery (covering my own mouth so as not to show my laughter); he looked thoughtful and noted that Bumrungrad DOES have helicopter service........ from the Hospital to the airport (only). As many know, the route to Bumrungrad's emergency entrance is very congested, and apparently all their ambulances are there, meaning one impossible trip out to you and then another trip back in.

In BKK and surrounding, there is NO helicopter health service. The military owns or controls ALL helicopters (that is why the news has to use little toy flying drone camera devices to get "helicopter photography" and why there are no traffic reporting nor news helicopters).

There are two theories about emergency treatment.....

1. Do as much treatment on scene as possible and then transport the patient (some say this French practice helped Lady Diana die).

2. Stabilize fast and transport fast to hospital. This is USA theory.

Due to traffic jams, Thailand is rather forced to take Theory #1, but the pick up truck ambulances lack such facilities; dont know about others.

I had one emergency ambulance call to suburban BKK area hospital, not govt., and pick up truck from that hospital, not private, took 43 minutes to get to me, 3.4 miles one way, light traffic. The two arriving attendants knew nothing about life saving techniques and existed solely to muscle me from my home into the pick up truck bed. Upon arrival, emergency room staff were freaked at seeing a foreigner and no one in the whole hospital building spoke any English. I lived.

Advice........ train your wife and household folks in CPR. If really worried, live within 1000 feet, clear, from a GOOD emergency room.... and stay home lots.

[griffer]

I had to call an ambulance from Bumrungrad a few years ago

I lived about 15 min walk from Bumrungrad in Soi 13

The ambulance took about 30 minutes to arrive with a doctor and two medics

She administered morphine to move me

The cost of the ambulance was only around 2000 baht.

I was already registered with Bumrungrad and had their card in my wallet with my hospital number on it.. I assume that helped speed things up.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

I had to call an ambulance from Bumrungrad a few years ago

I lived about 15 min walk from Bumrungrad in Soi 13

The ambulance took about 30 minutes to arrive with a doctor and two medics

She administered morphine to move me

The cost of the ambulance was only around 2000 baht.

I was already registered with Bumrungrad and had their card in my wallet with my hospital number on it.. I assume that helped speed things up.

That's interesting and helpful info, particularly about them sending a doctor on the ambulance, and the timing that was involved.

But just to be clear, being registered with the hospital (having a Bumrungrad patient card) is a separate and different matter from registering with their Ambulance Department.

You can be registered with the hospital and have their card. But that alone does nothing to help the ambulance crew FIND your home. Registering with the Ambulance department gives them the additional location info hopefully needed to find you once dispatched.

Obviously it makes sense to have both...since having the hospital card gives them quick/easy access to your medical history with them and, most importantly for the hospital, the way they'll get their money from you...

[j7general]

as said 1669.

It's such a gamble with traffic. Maybe you can move closer to the hospital.

I believe a check-up would be smart and then choose. We all know the signs of stroke, even a small one. Be on the safe side and get another look. numbness on your left side and cramps, even on your feet. Of course your chest, abnormal chest pains.

Wish you well!

Bangkok, or the outskirts would be a bad place to have a stroke (Any place is a bad time to have a stroke!).

It is a time to move closer to a hospital. Hua Hin, Pattaya, Chiang Mai have reputable Hospitals as with Udon Thani and Khon Kaen.-------maybe move to these cities?

[smotherb]

You are aware of Bangkok traffic? In almost all cases getting a local taxi or your own driving would get you to medical facilities faster that waiting for an ambulance to arrive, even if they could even find your address without issues.

If not time sensitive you can call for ambulance service from hospital of your choice - but have never heard of any panic button systems.

Yes indeed and that is what scares me in particular as per this issue (eg heart attack).

So I was hoping that maybe if one pays enough $s to "be a member" that a chopper might be sent.

OK I do realize I am probably maybe dreaming...

Just grab the next taxi, tuk-tuk, samlor, moto-taxi or bus and give the driver B1000, he will get you there, maybe even in time.

[j7general]

I had to call an ambulance from Bumrungrad a few years ago

I lived about 15 min walk from Bumrungrad in Soi 13

The ambulance took about 30 minutes to arrive with a doctor and two medics

She administered morphine to move me

The cost of the ambulance was only around 2000 baht.

I was already registered with Bumrungrad and had their card in my wallet with my hospital number on it.. I assume that helped speed things up.

You had a "Bumrrungrad" card?

That would mean you were a previous patient. How would they get you to the hospital faster? Just saying, I went there for a DNA test. It's a stroke or a death emergency. Triage would be in effect. A matter of life and death.

Very wise to have health insurance no matter how small. They want to know they will be reimbursed. AND-carry it with you because they will go through your belongings, not to steal but in Thailand, if you have an overstay they will not help you!

Keep all paperwork with insurance, including passport with recent visa, Name and numbers of who to call (IN THAI & ENGLISH etc.,) Copies, made for .50 cents to 5.00 US. Its like a small Ca. license with your info!

It saved my friends life and could you also!

[j7general]

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You are aware of Bangkok traffic? In almost all cases getting a local taxi or your own driving would get you to medical facilities faster that waiting for an ambulance to arrive, even if they could even find your address without issues.

If not time sensitive you can call for ambulance service from hospital of your choice - but have never heard of any panic button systems.

Yes indeed and that is what scares me in particular as per this issue (eg heart attack).

So I was hoping that maybe if one pays enough $s to "be a member" that a chopper might be sent.

OK I do realize I am probably maybe dreaming...

Just grab the next taxi, tuk-tuk, samlor, moto-taxi or bus and give the driver B1000, he will get you there, maybe even in time.

So true! If a Tuk-Tuk driver or Moto-Taxi can get you to the hospital quickly do it. The most important thing with a stroke is to get help as soon as possible! Waiting for an Ambulance would be useless. You need friends around you, when you feel a stroke coming, call a friend! If you can't speak Thai, speaking English is like sounding like Arabic when a Stroke is on you,...You cannot even write a word.

Getting a nurse would be smart!-----if your thai wife doesn't mind, get a trainee., Extra money for her and training points. @$ hour nurses run around 15,0000--45,0000 in Central Bangkok with 5 hour weeks. This does not include housing and expenses. Assuming this would be fair, these are legal nurses. Much cheaper for un-registered nurses.

[griffer]

yup the card probably only speeded things up in the fact that they could immediately access my medical history and I had a history of paying my bills..))

the card actually also got you a discount on in-patient care and medication.....

this card

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/388812-does-bumrungrad-have-a-discount-card/

[AussieSteve]

If you are registred with Bangkok Hospital, they will record your GPS position, so that the ambulance will always easily be able to find your home. In case of emergency, they will send a motorbike-ambulance ahead of the ambulance, if first aid is needed.

I have never heard of or seen an Ambulance Motorbike in BKK. Other countries including Australia have these and they are real lifesavers. In BKK with all the traffic problems it would definitely be better than waiting for an ambulance to eventually turn up.

I am an ex-ambulance officer from Australia and seriously considered setting up such a system with all the advanced resus. gear onboard such as Defib, adrenalin, maybe oxygen (but that's a contentious issue at the moment) etc and epi-pens.

All on a larger size motorbike, this would be a first response situation while either we waited for an ambulance or a taxi or whatever. In the case of a heart attack a simple thing such as a defib is so very important along with bystander CPR done properly.

I even wrote to insurance companies with the idea so it could be a selling point for Expat companies and their workers in BKK.

But for it to work there would have to be a membership fee if done outside of an insurance policy or if the insurance people took it up it would be incorporated in the policy.

But the insurance companies weren't interested so that was another idea down the drain.

Maybe one day it will happen.........................

[bangkapi]

Just pray any emergency happens on a Sunday..

My friend had a heart attack on a Sunday and I gave him the choice of a ride to Bumrungrad (25 minutes) or Ramkhamhaeng Hospital (5 minutes)

He chose Ramkhamhaeng... Not because of price or quality of care, but because of time... and it was a good choice.

Quick surgery after showing 200K baht cash and then CCU 3 days. Total cost was under 300K baht.

[Cheops]

You could buy a Philips HeartStart and train the people around you how to use this machine. It can make a difference between life and death.

http://www.heartstarthome.com/content/heartstart_featured.asp

[Satcommlee]

Having only witnessed someone with a suspected heart attack requiring the services of a hospital ambulance once..

I must say I was impressed, it was the BKK Rachasima Coronary care ambulance we called- and it arrived in 15 minutes fully equipped and even with a doctor on board and all the coronary care like defibrillators etc...

Now if I had called 1669 for this guy, then a an unequipped local hospital van would have arrived or the body snatchers in one of their supped up 20 year old pick-ups with no basic life saving equipment (except perhaps for oxygen).

Note: Certain payments are guaranteed under the compulsory insurance scheme for motor accidents - but not so for non vehicle related incidents this may affect who will respond..

Bangkok however is another world though with it's traffic! If you are really worried then you may consider where you stay and your proximity to a high quality private hospital with its own ambulance services and get on their books.

[uhuh]

In BKK and surrounding, there is NO helicopter health service. The military owns or controls ALL helicopters (that is why the news has to use little toy flying drone camera devices to get "helicopter photography" and why there are no traffic reporting nor news helicopters).

Actually, there is.

Bangkok Hospital does have a helicopter. It is not used for primary rescues though.

[uhuh]

If you are registred with Bangkok Hospital, they will record your GPS position, so that the ambulance will always easily be able to find your home. In case of emergency, they will send a motorbike-ambulance ahead of the ambulance, if first aid is needed.

I have never heard of or seen an Ambulance Motorbike in BKK.

Quite a few hospitals have this service,including Bangkok Hospital.

They are very useful. The driver can use the bike to carry his girlfriend's pizza or for a quick trip to the beach. Real useful.

[Greg Nixon]

You are aware of Bangkok traffic? In almost all cases getting a local taxi or your own driving would get you to medical facilities faster that waiting for an ambulance to arrive, even if they could even find your address without issues.

If not time sensitive you can call for ambulance service from hospital of your choice - but have never heard of any panic button systems.

Yes indeed and that is what scares me in particular as per this issue (eg heart attack).

So I was hoping that maybe if one pays enough $s to "be a member" that a chopper might be sent.

OK I do realize I am probably maybe dreaming...

It is unlikely that even the Queen of England would take a chopper to the hospital when in London. Regardless of the fact that there are thousands of chopper flights every day for heart attacks in London, Paris, Rome, New York and San Francisco, it is most unlikely they would ever come for you. You are in a special class of people called Country Bumpkins. Helicopters refuse to transport Country Bumpkins because several said bumpkins have reached for the controls at most inconvenient times. If you are in serious medical difficulties do not travel. If you are of average health look up the statistics for longevity in your country and risk of a heart attack.