Thai Public Hospital

Short Story with a long review – either nephew-in-law or grand nephew-in-law, hard to keep track of my extended Thai family, mid-fifties, 4-5 years ago had a benign growth removed from his tongue, advised to quit smoking - continued.

A few weeks ago, pain in the back of his mouth. Cancer. Step one, install breathing tube, step two, install feeding tube, step three, surgical removal of several large growths and many, many smaller ones. Prognosis – incurable/terminal.

Before surgery it was hoped he would be able to return home post surgery. After surgery ain’t gonna happen. He will remain hospitalized until he’s off to the crematorium.

Initially the family keep we away from the hospital. First was they didn’t want them to see a falang family member (might affect price?), second, didn’t want me to get sick (exposure to bacteria) – both bollocks. Finally relented. Went and saw him today. Yup, cancers eating him, head is a patchwork of red incisions, head is blown up (swollen to the size of a watermelon). Steel pipe installed to support his head (reinforce his spinal column).

What they have been doing is operating to remove scarring tissues and growths to improve his comfort level. High doses of pain meds keep him sleeping most of the time – until the water and mucous build up and wake him up. Can’t talk as they removed his voice box, can’t eat as they removed his palate and most of his teeth, removed most of his tongue. Really cut him up like a jig saw puzzle.

Prognosis is terminal – docs not pulling any punches of giving the family any false hopes. So Be It. We’ll be cremating him soon. (I’m off to Chiang Mai/Lampung for a couple of weeks to check up on family orchards and a planned house build. 50/50 if he’ll last until our return. End-of-month early Feb.

He’s at Phramongkutklao Hospital – a public Thai Military hospital located in Bangkok – as per my family it was exclusive for the military until recently – now open to the Thai general public. Interesting, the billing lines, about a dozen, had three English signs, “Foreigner” “Insurance” “Pharmacy” now I didn’t spend anytime in the billing area but did also see two additional lines that had signs saying “insurance” in Thai and one line that I believe referred to outpatient services in thai.

Now – what I saw – he’s in a ward. The third floor wing where he is located has one side dedicated to eyes and the other side dedicated to ear, throat and nose. Each side consisted of about a dozen ward rooms. Each ward room was sized for eight beds. Two rows of four. The wards I looked in were less than half full. Many only had six beds. Each ward had a large AC unit. A communal TV, a communal microwave and a communal refrigerator. There was plenty of space around each bed for chairs and visitors. Each bed had its own stainless steel cabinet, overhead/wall mounted fan and overhead lamp. Bathrooms and showers communal.

The ward he was in only had two other patients. Six beds total – three empty. Including the one in the “private room” naught more than a walled off two bed space with it’s own small AC unit and windows with drapes. Plenty of nurses caring for the patients.

All-in-all, not a bad place to die. And a damn sight better than my envisioned hospital ward scenario.

Pix not allowed. But, nothing worth seeing anyway. A couple of pix I took outside the ward.

https://teakdoor.com/attachment.php?...id=43880&stc=1





https://teakdoor.com/attachment.php?...id=43881&stc=1


https://teakdoor.com/attachment.php?...id=43882&stc=1


https://teakdoor.com/attachment.php?...id=43883&stc=1

Very interesting.

One would imagine that a Thai public hospital would be balls deep in the dead and dying.

What province is this mate ?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by terry57

What province is this mate ?

---

Phramongkutlao Hospital
315 Ratchawithi Road
Ratchathewi, Thung Phaya Thai
Bangkok

............... beaten by bowie.

^^

Ta. Thanks

Suranaree Military Hospital in Korat the same, brilliant. Can't fault it.

Very good to know that Thailand does have some good public hospitals and it's not all doom and gloom.

Update - grand nephew in law was transferred to ICU a couple days ago. Alive by definition only. Semi-conscious, occasionally opens his eyes but they are opaque and crusted over, very heavily sedated to minimize pain, vital signs are good. Respirations by machine. About a dozen or so tubes running in and out of him. Five are hooked up to automatic dosing machines. Families on the vigil, waiting for him to pass.

ICU - two wards on this the seventeenth floor. Each ward contains about twenty beds. Each in its own room. I only saw four occupied rooms in the ward I visited. The rest were empty. Six nurses monitoring the patients and visitors.

Visiting hours in ICU are two one hour periods. Noon to 1 PM and then 6 PM to 7 PM. Two visitor limit inside the room at any one time. Our group of three couples alternated to visit. Other than our group of six there were only five other visitors that I saw. I do believe that this is the death-watch ward.


Now, I would much rather forget to wake up one day, but, this is a Thai public hospital and the care provided to my in-law seems quite reasonable. I would not be averse to receiving end of life care there on the basis of the care I've seen provided to my in-law. And, this hospital is in the heart of bustling Bangkok and the ground floor was quite busy with folks checking in and checking out.

Hospitals are never pleasant places to visit.

Many punters talk about people dying in agony in some rat infested public hospital in lieland.

Never can work shit out in this joint.

Good report by the way.

To be fair, i think i have posted elswhere. I am covered by my work for treatment in a public hospital. A while back i had a sudden major heart attack. Wheeled in from the ambulance straight to the theater. A day in icu, a couple of days in the critical care unit, a few more on a general ward. Fantastic care. I think i paid something like 199 baht. Mainly because i charged my phone.

Follow up is a pain, long waits, but all in alll, pretty fantastic.

In public (state) hospital you can usually ask for a private room, provided it's available - or have it booked in advance - then paid for that some 800 - 1200 Baht daily. They usually advise (or require) to have somebody from family assisting 24/7, there is a bed or just a sofa available.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by bowie

First was they didn’t want them to see a falang family member (might affect price?),

---

Loss of face ?

Expectations from others that you could afford Bumrungrad ?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by terry57

Many punters talk about people dying in agony in some rat infested public hospital in lieland.

---

Most frequently you, Tel.

Good to read an informed view for once, eh?

Yer,

But I'm just going on what these other fuk ups on this forum say about the Thai Public Hospital system and I believe them considering the amount of fukers trying to use them.

I doubt very much the above story would be the norm for all Thai Public hospitals and I would say some would be down right fukin scary. Especially up Norf in shitsville.

I'll keep using Private thank you, my Insurance will pay for it thank fuk. :spam2:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by terry57

my Insurance will pay for it

---

Thanks to your Union?

Attachment 45064

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by terry57

I'll keep using Private thank you, my Insurance will pay for it thank fuk.

---

Private is not always best.

Here is a classic example.

Our firstborn was born in a public hospital on the advice of the doctor we employed to deliver her.

His reasoning was that the private hospital only delivered 40 kids per month compared to the public one that done well over 400 per month. He said in detail how the public one was more prepared, equipped and versed in what to do if complications should arise.

Oh, and to explain further about employing the doctor. He worked in the clinic my missus visited a few times before delivery and basically asked him how much to come in and deliver our child. Rather weird for me to experience that because I had never seen it happen.

I have 3 kids conceived using IVF. My missus chose her local government hospital for them to be delivered. Up to her. At the end of the day all delivered no real problems other than my first child was jaundice. She spent a few days on an incubator getting artificial sunlight to cure the problem. The thing I like here is the fact you can choose a day on which for them to be born on. The doctor will give a 2 week window as to what will be a good day to give birth, after your wife is advised by a monk. A cesarean is then carried out on the lucky day. Government hospitals every time for us. Same doctors work in the same private hospitals as well as government.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Bogon

Private is not always best.

---

I can confirm. I have been treated many times in both private and govt hospitals. Although the environment, service, in private is overly perfect (since it's overly paid for), the professionalism of the doctors - and their experience - is not always on such a level as in the govt hospital. Of course, it cannot be taken generally, it's case by case.