PM orders more personnel for Covid-19 hotlines after his calls went unanswered
Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Prayut Chan-o-cha has ordered that more personnel be deployed to man the 1668 and 1669 Covid-19 hotlines and helplines after nobody answered his call.
“I tried both numbers, but nobody answered. I want to find out if this is because there are too few health personnel manning the lines, or if they are too busy tending to patients in hospitals,” he said.
Prayut said now that private hospitals have also joined the battle against Covid, he does not want to hear that ambulances are unwilling to pick up patients because there are no beds available.
“I want the Public Health Ministry to urgently deal with this problem. I can’t accept the fact that entire families are getting infected because they are being denied medical help,” the premier said.
Meanwhile, Dr Apisamai Srirangsan, spokesperson for the Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA), admitted at a press conference on Wednesday that there are not enough people to answer thousands of calls on the two numbers. She advised people to remain calm as health workers are doing their best in ensuring every patient has a bed and promised that the CCSA will try to solve this problem as soon as possible.
