I just had my first trip to a hospital in Thailand, not actually for me, I was accompanying the wife. We went to the Bangkok Pattaya hospital because it’s the closest and she has been there before with the kids.
What an eye opener it turned out to be. Its like walking into a 5 star hotel in Bangkok – everything is pristine and immaculate. The most surprising this was that its so empty. Being used to the general mayhem of a (free) hospital courtesy of the NHS in the UK it was a totally new experience.
We were greeted in “reception” where we outlined the problem and were then escorted to the 3rd floor Outpatients department by (the hospital equivalent of) a bell-hop.
By the time the elevator was at the 3rd floor they were waiting for us, already armed with the bare details of the problem and were led immediately into a room complete with nurse and doctor. This is the bit that really threw me; I am used to four hour waits even for minor problems in Outpatients.
We then went through a thorough examination and hypertension was diagnosed. In a way this was great news for me and the kids as she has to learn to control her stress and anger levels from now on. An inhaler was prescribed which was ready and waiting by the time we had walked the few yards to the pharmacy.
The bad news is that the cost was 2,100 for the entire 20 minutes from start to finish.
I am NEVER going to change my view about the wonderful “ideal” of the British NHS – I fervently believe that hospital treatment should be FREE and equally available to all and not a “two tier” system that operates in Thailand and indeed many western countries.
However, the efficiency, speed, and condition of the hospital could not fail to impress – I think I have to swallow my political and moral standpoint and just accept that this is the way it is here and thank my lucky stars I have both the means to pay and medi-care for more serious matters.
My one gripe would be that I was NOT impressed with the nursing/reception staff playing computer games on the reception computer (which was in plain view) – that smacks of the “inherent problems” of the two tier system a little to much for me. Maybe they should consider compulsory public hospital hours for doctors and nurses who clearly had too much free time on their hands and whose skills would no doubt be very welcome in the busy public hospitals elsewhere.
Australian Visas for Thai Girls
just a quick response from somebody who is currently using the services of the Bangkok ‘expat’ health care system.
I fully confirm that the flair of private hospitals in Bangkok is very impressive. This is true for the full cycle of treatment including operating theatre, bed rooms etc.
However I had to realize that most of this is a deliberate setup to lure the patients and does not reflect the quality of the service that really matters – the medical treatment.
I had a shoulder operation last week. The operation istself was ok I would say. However the subsequent treatment of physical therapy and other things is a mess where the only consistent element is the march to the cashier after even the tiniest thing with rather hefty bills.
Due to insconsistency in treatment some damage has now occured in my shoulder and now I face the Thai mentality with blank faces and polite smiles, lots of incompetence due to lack of training – and further bills as obvioulsy I have to pick them up.
In summary: I would always choose medical expertise over ‘design’. NHS may have a point there.
Kind regards
Axel
Bangkok hospital Pattaya in my opinion is one of the worst, and highest price facilities in Thailand. Many expats know this and have changed their primary care hospitals to one of three local hospitals in the Chonburi area. The Navy hospital in Satahip, Sametavej in Sriracha, or Phyathai which is my choice also in Sriracha.
Barry