Thread: Healthcare demand has hospitals in Northeast close to ‘collapse’

Nation
Overcrowding at some hospitals in the Northeast has resulted in complaints about overworked staff verbally chastising people seeking treatment.

One elderly woman seeking free treatment under the universal healthcare scheme has twice been told at Khon Kaen Hospital she should be seeking help elsewhere, her son said this week.


He took his distressed mother to the hospital early Wednesday morning, only to be berated by a staff member in the X-ray department whom he described as “overwhelmed and sleep-deprived”.


The unnamed staff member claimed the hospital was so overwhelmed by people seeking free treatment that the staff was going without sleep.

MORE Healthcare demand has hospitals in Northeast close to ?collapse?

this is also happening not far [60klms] from khon kaen,my last visit resulted in a wait of 6hrs.just to get a follow up prescription,which I PAY FOR.
if you are not at the hospital at least 6am.you will find your queue no in 3figuers.even when you manage to get your prescription there will be an enormous queue at the pharmacy.

Real simple solution - don't get sick. But, on the realistic side, I've rarely had to use a hospital, or select medical services in Thailand, other than routine physicals where I made an appointment. I did seek treatment six months ago at one of the Phayathai Hospital(s) in Bangkok for a lung infection. Had a family member speak to them in Thai, was seen pretty much immediately by a Doctor, chest x-ray, 20 minutes nebulizer treatment, prescribed inhaler, pills and drink, given the medicines right there. Instructed to return in two weeks if symptoms persisted and one week if symptoms got worse. In and out in about an hour.

Anyway, paid @ THB 3k, total.

Now, the qualifier on this is it is a bigger Medical Hospital in Bangkok that caters to foreigners and has an international medicine department dedicated to medical tourism. The real "problem" as reported to me by my extended thai family is the so-called free socialized medicine THB 30 plan. Ain't nobody gonna bend-over for the THB 30 payment. You (thai) go to the hospital and wait, well, forever. Reports of patients getting there in the early morning and being told in late afternoon/evening to go home, the doctor has left for the day. Got one BIL been waiting for an appointment with an eye doctor for prescription glasses (seriously needs 'em) been on the waiting list six months now - even though the doctors staff knows he has the money (my money) to pay for the glasses and appointment.

Chalk it up to This-Is-Thailand, sometimes even money don't matter.

Strange conclusion.

Surely the whole point is that money does matter, and the hospitals aren't getting it.

Originally Posted by bowie

Got one BIL been waiting for an appointment with an eye doctor for prescription glasses (seriously needs 'em) been on the waiting list six months now - even though the doctors staff knows he has the money (my money) to pay for the glasses and appointment.

If you are going to pay for the glasses, why not just take him to an opticians shop? You'll be in and out in an hour and have the glasses in a few days. No appointment necessary. Just walk in, get hs eyes tested, choose some frames and wait. If you're lucky, you might even get the lenses done the same day.

Originally Posted by cyrille

Strange conclusion.

Surely the whole point is that money does matter, and the hospitals aren't getting it.

it matters alright, but it didnt help me,[25,000bht] for a think abi scan,the results plus cd.were taken to another hospital,which turned out to be BS.the wife wanted to go back there to ask for a refund,as she is westernised i told her,T.I.T.

Originally Posted by Neverna

If you are going to pay for the glasses, why not just take him to an opticians shop? You'll be in and out in an hour and have the glasses in a few days. No appointment necessary. Just walk in, get hs eyes tested, choose some frames and wait. If you're lucky, you might even get the lenses done the same day.

Agreed wholeheartedly, however, I did not come to Thailand to babysit a bunch of children, 'tis their country, let them suffer the consequences of what their politics, military, administration and religion have brought them.

Yes, I'll pay for medical necessities for my Thai family, they do enough for me, but, I will not lead a 55 year old man around by the hand taking him to a doctor. Some of that adage "the Lord helps them that helps themselves". He needs help and I'm more than willing to spring for his doc and glasses, but, I'm not taking a 55 year old man, or woman, to the doctors. I'm not their parent(s). Getting the motivation to seek recourse to his situation, well, up to him. Gave him a personal business-like card with mine and my wife names, addresses, phone numbers, both Thai and English, written in both Thai and English script and told him to have the doc give me a call (Thai of English), as of yet, no call.

When I query the wife about it she says "he very thankful you'll take care of the money, he hasn't called" Leading a horse to water...

Originally Posted by cyrille

Strange conclusion.

Surely the whole point is that money does matter, and the hospitals aren't getting it.

The conclusions not that strange, in some (if not most) cases, the access to money, or the lack thereof, does not change the response or actions of the medical personnel you deal with. And this pretty much applies everywhere, most countries. Realize, the folk you deal with receptionists, appointment schedulers, nurses and assistants, do not have any concerns about your ability to pay. They're just doing their jobs. No impact at all on how fat their wallets may be.

For the most part you deal with the lower pay-scaled personnel up to the point of when you actually see a doctor.

Well Thailand wants to be a first world country, high healthcare costs go hand in hand with longevity. Of course that fact they have no H&S Nazis to stop uncontrolled use of cancer inducing chemicals and accidents is going to exacerbate the problem, especially in low skilled agrarian areas. Its either wait or pay more.

I read this story straight after reading about the tsunami in Indonesia, didn't even blink in between the two

Tragic, given the pride they have in their country

The problem is the general low cost of human capital in this part of the world, it'll not change soon unfortunately.

Originally Posted by bowie

The conclusions not that strange, in some (if not most) cases, the access to money, or the lack thereof, does not change the response or actions of the medical personnel you deal with.

But you're posting about a public hospital in Thailand, aren't you?

That's why the wait for your brother in law to get his eye test is lengthy, and the amount of money you have makes no difference. Why not just go to an optician's and pay the private fees as Neverna mentioned?

Originally Posted by Neverna

Just walk in, get his eyes tested,

But will you get your eyes tested/checked by a qualified Optician, or by some non-qualified shop assistant? When getting ones eyes tested here in Ting Tong Land I'd recommend getting it done at an hospital by a qualified person. Your bad eyesight just might be due to some underlying medical condition.

Originally Posted by Pragmatic

Originally Posted by Neverna
Just walk in, get his eyes tested,
But will you get your eyes tested/checked by a qualified Optician, or by some non-qualified shop assistant? When getting ones eyes tested here in Ting Tong Land I'd recommend getting it done at an hospital by a qualified person. Your bad eyesight just might be due to some underlying medical condition.

If no eye desease, just to have the glasses made to your eyes conditions measured with a state-of-the-art equipment, I can confirm what Neverna said. With the correction, I get the glasses (bi-focal) within 1 -2 hours, doing that for more than 20 years...