Emergency Response (Ambulance) and Emgency Hospital Care in Chiang Mai

[Mapguy]

Recently, a thread was started because of concern about one incident at a popular private hospital for Chiang Mai resident expats. The general situation of emergency response and emergency hospital care began to be addressed by some posters, but the thread heading was not altogether helpful so that is why this thread is begun.

This thread is addressed exactly to the issues in the title. There is some hope that posters will stick to the topic and also to Chiang Mai. This is not about ambulances or hospitals in Bangkok, Pattaya or Korat! Just Chiang Mai.

There are a few things to consider, such as type of emergency, your location, and the amount of time it takes to get to a hospital that can offer appropriate care. (A broken leg is different than a heart attack!) The problem will basically define the way to go and how long to get there.

Not to reflect poorly on any other hospital, I will start by saying that Suan Dok, or Maharaj Hospital, Emergency is at the top of the list simply because of its staffing and resources in its role as the principal regional hospital in Chiang Mai, but it might not be the best choice because of the distance needed to travel and the nature of the medical problem. Some other hospitals will probably serve well. I hope people will share their experiences.

In the meantime, the best of good health to you!

Edited September 26, 2015 by Mapguy

[Tywais]

Useful to have is a list of phone/contact information. Directory of Emergency and Medical

[northernjohn]

Useful to have is a list of phone/contact information. Directory of Emergency and Medical

Yes indeed it is useful. We are all getting older and more susceptible to different things.

We all age differently and I know for myself when I turned 70 it started to become more apparent in the actions I participated in.

As I said on the other thread I will be seeing my doctor this week and asking for recommendations for various things. She has no problem with recommending specialists.

The other thread made it apparent to me that in an emergency time provided Suan Dok would be the best choice of hospitals.

[noise]

The other thread made it apparent to me that in an emergency time provided Suan Dok would be the best choice of hospitals.

Two days ago, my father-in-law (85) was having chest pains. Since he is retired military and can direct bill the govt, my wife took him to Suan Dok emergency. Calling up a relative working there, she was able to get ahead of the queue to some extent. She got there at 8 am.

He is crippled and weighs about 110-120 kg. Sent him back and forth for tests. No one showed them where to go, just said it is that way. They had no one to push wheel chairs .so my wife had to do it (I was unable to go with her) and she weighs maybe 47 kg. Ten hours of pushing 120 kgs back and forth just about gave her a heart attack.

He saw only interns who were obviously not interested, over worked, and whose treatment seemed disjointed. They ran blood tests twice, xrayed twice, They finally ruled out heart problems and gave up. My wife and FIL left at 6 pm. Ten hours to rule out heart problems. If my FIL had had a real problem, who knows what would have happened, could have happened during that time.

You are on your own when you got there. They just do not have the staff to adequately help the masses that show up.

Talked to one man who said he got there early to get in the queue and got number 1004.

Suan Dok is a medical school and may have great teaching surgeons and professors on staff. But it is the major hospital for northern Thailand and gets thousands of patients every day. The teaching staff is in class or treating patients at private hospitals most of the time. You get the interns and first year residents. If you are not in the middle of an obvious going to die in the next 10 minutes condition, I would guess you will got lost in the crowd.

FIL's previous visit: With an appointment, finally got to see the doctor in his cubicle after waiting 3 1/2 hours with 300 of his closest friends and neighbors. Five patients go in at a time. One patient leaves, everyone moves up one chair, and a new 5th patient comes in. Sort of "you have 5 minutes, spit it out and leave."

Your mileage may differ.

[northernjohn]

The other thread made it apparent to me that in an emergency time provided Suan Dok would be the best choice of hospitals.

Two days ago, my father-in-law (85) was having chest pains. Since he is retired military and can direct bill the govt, my wife took him to Suan Dok emergency. Calling up a relative working there, she was able to get ahead of the queue to some extent. She got there at 8 am.

He is crippled and weighs about 110-120 kg. Sent him back and forth for tests. No one showed them where to go, just said it is that way. They had no one to push wheel chairs .so my wife had to do it (I was unable to go with her) and she weighs maybe 47 kg. Ten hours of pushing 120 kgs back and forth just about gave her a heart attack.

He saw only interns who were obviously not interested, over worked, and whose treatment seemed disjointed. They ran blood tests twice, xrayed twice, They finally ruled out heart problems and gave up. My wife and FIL left at 6 pm. Ten hours to rule out heart problems. If my FIL had had a real problem, who knows what would have happened, could have happened during that time.

You are on your own when you got there. They just do not have the staff to adequately help the masses that show up.

Talked to one man who said he got there early to get in the queue and got number 1004.

Suan Dok is a medical school and may have great teaching surgeons and professors on staff. But it is the major hospital for northern Thailand and gets thousands of patients every day. The teaching staff is in class or treating patients at private hospitals most of the time. You get the interns and first year residents. If you are not in the middle of an obvious going to die in the next 10 minutes condition, I would guess you will got lost in the crowd.

FIL's previous visit: With an appointment, finally got to see the doctor in his cubicle after waiting 3 1/2 hours with 300 of his closest friends and neighbors. Five patients go in at a time. One patient leaves, everyone moves up one chair, and a new 5th patient comes in. Sort of "you have 5 minutes, spit it out and leave."

Your mileage may differ.

Sounds like the experience I had there when I went to get my eyes checked. Mind you I was not in the emergency unit.

[Tywais]

Topic cleaned up from off topic and nonsense posts. Will continue to do so to keep it 'tidy' in here for useful information.

[Mapguy]

Thanks to Uptheos who posted this on a differet thread:

http://www.bangkokhospital-chiangmai.com/en/centers-and-clinics/trauma-and-emergency-services/

[Mapguy]

Thanks to jeffKP, who posted this on a different thread:

Suffered chest pains about 5 weeks ago. I went to CM RAM emergency room. Got me in quickly and called a cardiologist. Tests proved inconclusive for a heart attack. He wanted to admit me and do an angiogram (SP?) the next day.

Was taken in to do the procedure and the equipment software would not boot up. Tried for an hour, called tech support, etc. Doctor told me they would have to send a technician from Bangkok.It would take up to three days. He offered to move me to another hospital and do it or reschedule. I chose to reschedule. Took 6 days to get the call. Was scheduled to do the procedure on a Sunday. Saturday evening I couldn't breath. I know it was heart failure and went back to the emergency room. Saturday is my doctor's day off. The ER people called him and he prescribed an diuretic and oxygen.

He came in early Sunday and did the procedure. I had one block and he inserted a stent.

I have no problems with the care I've received.

However... I have excellent insurance. I knew the cardiac procedure wold be expensive. The hospital told me if they received a "guarantee letter" from the insurance company they would bill them directly. I called my insurance and they gave me a detail list of what info they would require. I wrote it down and took it to the hospital with me.

The day I was released billing told me they had not yet received the letter. The bill was for 400,000 Bhat. I could leave my passport while they waited. I did and called my insurance when I got home. The info the hospital submitted made no sense. My admission date was three weeks earlier, etc.

I went back the next day and paid the bill. I've submitted the claim for reimbursement.

A week latter I went back to the hospital with a friend who had an appointment. While I was waiting, the lady who I had dealt with regarding my insurance dropped by. During our conversation, she let drop that the insurance companies wait 30 days before paying a claim and they don't like that. I think they deliberately screwed up to force me to pay cash up front!

Anyone else had this happen?

Edited September 27, 2015 by Mapguy

[elgordo38]

No worries here the Ambulance driver parks from around 10.00pm to 3.00am across the road at the gas station every night. He apparently has quite a female following as he lets them play with the siren. He goes out about 3 times in this time period siren wailing.

[Tywais]

Looking for more information on emergency services I came across this site - Chiang Mai SOS CHIANG MAI'S FOURTH EMERGENCY SERVICE. Obviously a private service but looks interesting. I see they have a box to sign up for CEC so maybe Nancy has more info on it.

Emergency Assistance for Foreigners in Chiang Mai

If you were in trouble. Who would you call on to help? Friends or Family? Very often they are either unable or unavailable to give assistance.

SOS MEMBERS have the peace of mind knowing they have 24 HOUR access to our team of professionals who are available for call out. In the event of an emergency the member, or someone acting on their behalf can call the 24 HOUR HELP LINE which is found on the membership card.

• In Cases of Detention by Police or Immigration
• Hospitalisation
• Serious Illness or Injury
• In the Event of Your Death
• 24-hour Emergency Assistance

//edit - NOTE: link removed based on Nancy's comment it is no longer active.

[NancyL]

Looking for more information on emergency services I came across this site - Chiang Mai SOS CHIANG MAI'S FOURTH EMERGENCY SERVICE. Obviously a private service but looks interesting. I see they have a box to sign up for CEC so maybe Nancy has more info on it.

Emergency Assistance for Foreigners in Chiang Mai

If you were in trouble. Who would you call on to help? Friends or Family? Very often they are either unable or unavailable to give assistance.

SOS MEMBERS have the peace of mind knowing they have 24 HOUR access to our team of professionals who are available for call out. In the event of an emergency the member, or someone acting on their behalf can call the 24 HOUR HELP LINE which is found on the membership card.

• In Cases of Detention by Police or Immigration
• Hospitalisation
• Serious Illness or Injury
• In the Event of Your Death
• 24-hour Emergency Assistance

Tywais, this business is no longer active and I'm surprised they still have a website. This was one of the businesses in Alan Hall's empire. Actually, it was a very good idea and worked well, but I doubt something like this could be made to work as a stand-alone business for just 2000 baht per year per member.

Edited September 28, 2015 by NancyL

[Tywais]

Tywais, this business is no longer active and I'm surprised they still have a website. This was one of the businesses in Alan Hall's empire. Actually, it was a very good idea and worked well, but I doubt something like this could be made to work as a stand-alone business for just 2000 baht per year per member.

Thanks for the quick update Nancy. I edited my post to remove the link and a note that it is no longer active. Too bad, looked very useful.

[harrry]

I needed an ambulance in Chiangmai. About 5 minutes to arrive from SuanDOrk o CMU.

In Chiangrai a few weeks ago my bil needed one. Less than 5 minutes for one to arrive.

Of course Bangkok with its massive traffic would mean prblemsbthere.

[Mapguy]

I needed an ambulance in Chiangmai. About 5 minutes to arrive from SuanDOrk o CMU.

In Chiangrai a few weeks ago my bil needed one. Less than 5 minutes for one to arrive.

Of course Bangkok with its massive traffic would mean prblemsbthere.

That is FAST! Do you recall if you called Suan Dok Hospital for the ambulance? The police,or some other ambulance service? Sounds like Suan Dok since CMU is so close to the hospital.

[Mapguy]

Bumping this with some surprise that so few people seem to have experiences to share, or haven't seen this thread yet.

To add to reports, I was at Chiang Mai Ram in recent months to accompany a cardio emergency patient who arrived by taxi, and the service from the emergency room to the operating room was timely and successful. Full recovery since.

Some years ago, again at Ram, I was scheduled to see one of the staff ophthalmologists, but at the last minute she was called in to consult on a serious accident victim in the Emergency Room. I don't know the result of that case, but one point to make is that a qualified specialist was available basically immediately to consult. That was during the day, of course.

Otherwise, for bumps and bruises, road rash and many accidents, I have seen Chiang Mai Ram effective both day and night. For that sort of thing, I expect most hospitals can respond except in some cases some rural clinics and small community hospitals which are not well-staffed, and nighttime service might not be available immediately if at all.

[Mapguy]

Thanks to Alfieconn (on another thread):

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/858087-strange-experience-at-a-well-known-chiang-mai-hospital/page-4

So, anyone with experience with Bangkok Hospital (Chiang Mai), Lanna, McCormick, et cetera?

Edited September 30, 2015 by Mapguy