Thailand experiencing nurse shortages

[webfact]

Thailand experiencing nurse shortages

  

BANGKOK, 29 August 2016 (NNT) - The Ministry of Public Health has set a goal to increase the number of nurses in the country as 36,000 more nurses are needed to provide medical services. 

Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Public Health Dr. Sopon Mekthon said the demand for medical personnel in Thailand has increased following the ministry’s effort to raise the standards and the number of medical services at public hospitals nationwide. 

According to the Bureau of Nursing, 228,811 nurses are currently employed by the Ministry of Public Health. Out of that number, 109,991 of them are working for the Office of the Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Public Health. 

The office is however still in need of 36,862 more nurses to carry out medical related duties. Dr. Sophon claimed his office loses about four percent of its nursing staff each year. 

The Ministry of Public Health is expected to do more to ensure income equality in the nursing profession and hire more nursing assistants to help with daily operations.

 

-- nnt 2016-08-29

 

[BigBadGeordie]

"The office is however still in need of 36,862 more nurses to carry out medical related duties."

 

Perhaps it is time for a full review of nursing services in order to allow them to spend their time on patient focussed/patient care activities as opposed to administrative and other non-nursing duties.

 

The problem is with the system, not the nurses.

[trogers]

Why are nurses used for processing paperwork?

 

Perhaps they can easily look for 36,862 office personnels to free up the same number for nursing tasks?

[JAG]

Well now they are in ASEAN they can bring in all those qualified nurses from the other countries can they not?

[bubba1]

10 minutes ago, JAG said:

Well now they are in ASEAN they can bring in all those qualified nurses from the other countries can they not?

Thailand has been part of ASEAN since 1967.

[PoorSucker]

28 minutes ago, JAG said:

Well now they are in ASEAN they can bring in all those qualified nurses from the other countries can they not?

 

The problem is that they must pass an exam that is only in Thai.

[Mook23]

8 minutes ago, PoorSucker said:

 

The problem is that they must pass an exam that is only in Thai.

 

a Thai patient doesn't understand Filipino or Bpama... most don't even understand English.  tsktsk.....

[hansnl]

2 hours ago, BigBadGeordie said:

"The office is however still in need of 36,862 more nurses to carry out medical related duties."

 

Perhaps it is time for a full review of nursing services in order to allow them to spend their time on patient focussed/patient care activities as opposed to administrative and other non-nursing duties.

 

The problem is with the system, not the nurses.

Might it be any different in your country?

It isn't in my country!

[PoorSucker]

5 minutes ago, Mook23 said:

 

a Thai patient doesn't understand Filipino or Bpama... most don't even understand English.  tsktsk.....

 

We could use some European nurses here on Samui, but they are restricted to work as receptionists.

[Mook23]

1 minute ago, PoorSucker said:

 

We could use some European nurses here on Samui, but they are restricted to work as receptionists.

we could use westerners in so many positions here. the number of misunderstandings and utter frustration I have witnessed on both sides caused by language barrier is astronomical... in restaurants, hotels, hospitals, 7/11, immigration, etc. it's a shame. Thailand needs to speak better English and understand that rest of world is not familiar with kreng jai bs and thainess.... the excuse is always thai people shy. yeah yeah. they ain't shy when they blatantly rip off some newbie....

[phantomfiddler]

Easily solved, ship in a few thousand filipinas who will doubtless do a much better job for a considerably smaller salary. Problem solved, thanks not required

[petedk]

Thailand has been part of ASEAN since 1967.

He means after the formation of the AEC. Nursing is one of the professions where people are supposed to be able to teavel accross borders freely and work.

I know many nurses who are terrified of losing out to nurses if other countries.

[bubba1]

8 minutes ago, petedk said:

 

He means after the formation of the AEC. Nursing is one of the professions where people are supposed to be able to teavel accross borders freely and work.

I know many nurses who are terrified of losing out to nurses if other countries.

 

I think you are poorly informed. There is not any free travel or open borders in Thailand. A few stringent requirements that will never be met. 

[fxe1200]

The real problem is, that nurses love to sign up with a government hospital, as they enjoy free health care, sick leave and a retirement plan. But they won't seek employment with a private hospital, where there have no such advantages, but the board of directors all drive a new  Benz and enjoy a six figure income. Better conditions for the nurses in private hospitals would change the situation rapidly.

[adhd]

you know what could made all those nurses & doctors not needed ?

 

prevention & education about dangerous habits like sugar, msg, bad oils, smoking, ya ba, drinking ....

 

makes you:  obese, stupid, fat, lung cancer, crazy, drunk, liver failure

[sahibji]

3 hours ago, bubba1 said:

Thailand has been part of ASEAN since 1967.

depends on whether similar packages can be offered to these nurses. other wise there is no incentive to return.

[sahibji]

there is a shortage of nurses because the need was not anticipated or this is not a popular profession. the pill must be sweetened and the package made more attractive for more women to enter and remain in the profession.

[Acharn]

The normal way to hire more specialists is to offer higher salaries/wages. The alternative is to cause such a deep economic crisis that the "reserve army of the starving unemployed" becomes very large.

[Acharn]

2 hours ago, adhd said:

you know what could made all those nurses & doctors not needed ?

 

prevention & education about dangerous habits like sugar, msg, bad oils, smoking, ya ba, drinking ....

 

makes you:  obese, stupid, fat, lung cancer, crazy, drunk, liver failure

Yes, but has nothing to do with malaria, cancer, broken legs, eye surgery, and other reasons why people go into hospitals. Day to day I see some overweight people, but very few who are as obese as is common among Americans. People get sick. People need medical help. Have you never had a serious case of influenza? Oh, by the way, I'm 79 years old, I drank alcoholically for over twenty years and smoked cigarettes for sixty years. I have only been hospitalized twice, once for pneumonia and once for eye surgery (cataracts). I have been very, very lucky. Abusing your health may not cause bad effects. Following healthy practices may not keep you from getting sick.

[soalbundy]

7 hours ago, BigBadGeordie said:

"The office is however still in need of 36,862 more nurses to carry out medical related duties."

 

Perhaps it is time for a full review of nursing services in order to allow them to spend their time on patient focussed/patient care activities as opposed to administrative and other non-nursing duties.

 

The problem is with the system, not the nurses.

sounds like the NHS

[Bob12345]

4 hours ago, fxe1200 said:

The real problem is, that nurses love to sign up with a government hospital, as they enjoy free health care, sick leave and a retirement plan. But they won't seek employment with a private hospital, where there have no such advantages, but the board of directors all drive a new  Benz and enjoy a six figure income. Better conditions for the nurses in private hospitals would change the situation rapidly.

You seem to have misread the article, as it is talking about a shortage of nurses in government hospitals.

 

As far as I know private hospitals have no shortage of nurses. As soon as there would be a shortage they probably increase the salaries (and prices charged to patients) to attract more nurses directly out of nursing school or from government hospitals.

 

The conditions for nurses are generally much better in private hospitals also, and I don't see what the car brand of members of the board of directors has to do with anything. It seems like you just adjusted your post to whatever you thought the subject was instead of actually have an informed opinion.

[Basil B]

Probably all the nurses in private hospitals trained in government hospitals...

 

Solution, put a tax on private hospitals that will be used to increase the wages of nurses in government hospitals.

[peergin]

-

[peergin]

nurses are angels

[nausea]

Shitty wages.

On 8/29/2016 at 3:05 PM, PoorSucker said:

 

The problem is that they must pass an exam that is only in Thai.

Is that true? Anyway, any nurse with decent English language skills is gonna be hightailing it to the UK, then the USA.

[soalbundy]

I haven't found the nurses to be short,some are quite tall in fact.

[GOLDBUGGY]

Well? All that I know is that they can't get any nurses from Canada. They all move down to the United States for better money after they graduate.