Government Hospital Health Care

[DonaldBattles]

I have had two occasions to be in the Chiang Rai Government Hospital, one for cataract surgery and second for colon infection due to diverticulitis. The second time I came in contact with 5 different doctors concerning the colon infection. They all knew what they were doing and were very efficient. I started out at the Outpatient Clinic where he did blood test before they sent me to the main hospital. The waiting time at the Outpatient Clinic in the morning was 1 hour.

Note when Thaksin started the free medical program he never built any new hospitals this along with population growth causes the hospitals to be ver over crowded with people sleeping in hallways , passageways and any place they can put a bed.

I was admitted to a ward that was divided into 4 sections with 10 people per section. I was told not to eat or drink anything. They immediately put me on an sugar-salt IV along with 100 ml of high powered antibiotic drip. From some reason this ward had mostly cancer patients or people who were seriously ill. The number of doctors and nurses are very limited and they performed great under very difficult conditions.

The problems were all the noise that visitors make hanging over the beds all talking loud at the same time. Once patient who just came out of surgery had 13 people follow him into the ward. My wife said they were following the money trail. They have a clear sign at the entrance of the ward that visiting hours are over at 20:00. Six of 13 stayed hanging over the bed while 7 left. Around 17:00 the seven came back with a big cooler many sacks of food pots pans, dishes tableware and started a camp in one of the passageways. This party went on until after midnight. Therefore the nurses did not turn the lights out until 00:30. The head nurse told me that it is impossible to control the visitors when they come and go. Further compounded by the nurse wakes you up every hour to check your blood pressure and temperature. My wife was with me for both nights and she could not sleep. The second night I took a sleeping pill.

The treatment was very effective and I was discharged on the 3rd day. There is not enough praise you can give to the doctors and nurses for the amount and quality of work they do. My total bill including 2 blood test, doctors, Xray, and medication was 3500B. The bed is 400B per night. I asked about a private room and was told that there were 20 people on the waiting list.

I asked two doctors why the new nurse training building is not in operation and why they stopped work on the new 20 story wing 6 months ago and neither had any idea.

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Sorry for so much information but though you all might be interested in the details.

[tonray]

Great story ! I am in the process of buying health coverage myself and one wonders really what the costs are. I know many Thai hospitals (I am in BKK) publish their rates for typical surgeries and some are astronomical. But I think for 90% of ailments costs may be in line with what you experienced.

[lopburi3]

Costs at a private hospital would be much, much higher in almost all cases (about the only thing I know that may be close are MRI and perhaps CAT scans where even government hospitals have to charge a high price to pay for the equipment. Although hopefully they will not be quite as high as what you likely checked (the cost leader I suspect). Do not underestimate what you require for health insurance. You have other things to worry about when ill than finding the cash to pay.

[nabbie]

I am not the expert on this issue - just wondering if you are admitted for emergency or making the appointment in advance? If via appointment, I guess you may have a better chance to secure the private room, isn't it? Glad you discharging successfully.

[DonaldBattles]

I was admitted on a rush. If your doctor schedules surgery for you one month in advance they will accept application for the private room which is about 1200B. You have to keep checking weekly to confirm as there may be a VIP and they give your room away. This is what happened to me the first time. The did put me in a ward with only 3 people which was OK. The private room has the uncomfortable bed but has air, sofa, TV and fridge.

[Gonsalviz]

I spent 2 nights at Udon hospital. I'd rate it only slightly better than a vet clinic.

The doctor was good and except for the head ward nurse (grouchy bag) the staff was okay.

I'd never do it again unless I had a private room or i had no control over the situation.

[sceadugenga]

A good and informative post Don.

I heard recently... a not always reliable source... that some private hospitals offer their own insurance, the deal being of course that you have to be treated in their hospital or one of their group.

Anyone had any experience with this?

I'll admit that my attitude to anything like this is skeptical, I've been in Chiang Rai for more than ten years and never really paid a cent, other than a brief foray into the 30 baht scheme, I could have had a lot of hospital treatment for what I've saved in that time.

[DonaldBattles]

Sriburin Hospital has a health maintenance plan that runs about 10,000 per year. The number of days you can be treated in the hospital is quiet limited and does not equate to 10k. I am told that Sriburin has been bought out by Bangkok Hospital and they have dramatically raised their rates. I needed to see the urologist recently for a physical prostate test, He has his room just across from the information desk in the main lobby. When I paid the bill they charged me 200 Baht for nurse and 200 Baht for assistant. The doctor's fee for 3 minutes was 300 Baht. It appears that they may be doing this to everyone as another means of rip off. He gave me a drug to soften the prostate at night to reduce the number of times I have to urinate. The pills were 50B each and don't work. He gave me an appointment to come back when the pills were finished. His office is just across the new bridge going north so I won't be blessing Sriburin with a follow up call. Doctor Pongsak was recommended by two good friends.

Currently the government has 3 major health care programs that they fund and are totally independent of each other. Government employees and their families, Social Security and the 30 Baht Gold card. The former permanent Secretary of Health Dr. Narong stated that the 3 programmes were full of corruption. He was personal removed by the PM and put on hold until his mandatory retirement came up at the end of last month. The PM is convinced that the 30 Baht scheme is going to have to have some co-pay at some level. the new Minister Of Health has been assigned to study these three programs and the feasibility of combining them into one and making equal for all. This is a chance for the PM to clean a mess like this. It has been reported that Government Employees with family members were drawing large and frequent amounts of drugs and selling them on the outside. Remember when the 30 Baht scheme started Thailand elected to s tart copying expensive drugs and not pay any royalty. This is one of the reasons that they opted out of the TPP. Recently the PM issued an order to allow all stateless people to be treated free. It is my opinion that once all of this settles out there will be an insurance purchase program for farangs. With the action of the 500 Muslim Mob in Phuket the PM has his hands full. I am sure that the military will hold on to power until after graduation of a important person. After that, GOD ONLY KNOWS WHAT THE FUTURE BRINGS. Until people stop looking for something free and change what is in their hearts and mind nothing will really change.

[DonaldBattles]

I have visited the Udorn government hospital a 3 years ago and a dog pen would be a better place to stay. That day there were over 500 in the que to get serviced. My father in law had a broken finger and came in at 07:00 he saw the doctor at 19:00. They told him to come back the next day to be admitted for surgery. Super filthy and disorganized.