MDES joins hands with Huawei strengthening in Thailand’s public health sector

The Ministry of Digital Economy and Society (MDES) joins hands with Huawei Technologies (Thailand) Co., Ltd in strengthening Thailand’s public health sector, especially for the field hospitals, required to accommodate the increasing number of COVID-19 patients. The cooperation covers the provision of technologies for medical use, aiming to boost safety for the medical staff and patients and reducing the risk of infection transmission within the Bang Khun Thien field hospital in Bangkok. In alignment with Huawei’s commitment to providing continuous support to the Thai society, 5G telemedicine, InPatient area Intelligent Management, and eLTE broadband trunking, all managed from the IdeaHub control centre, and worth more than 6 million THB, will enhance the handling of the pandemic and support the hi-speed and convenient communication network for the staff working onsite.

With the increasing number of COVID-19 patients in Thailand, and many hospitals almost exceeding capacity, the medical personnel are working tirelessly to offer their patients the best medical care. In this direction, the government and public health sector have been cooperatively setting up several field hospitals, including the 1,000-bed Bang Khun Thien Hospital in Bangkok, to cope with the spread of COVID-19 nationwide with urgency. Additionally, in order to help doctors and nurses better cope with the influx of cases, an important mission for the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society has been to integrate and adapt digital technologies within the Thai public health sector. The aim has been to help tackle the medical equipment, medical personnel, and hospitals deficiency challenges, by bringing technologies from a world-class company like Huawei to handle and prevent the ongoing spread of COVID-19.

Mr. Chaiwut Thanakhamanusorn, Digital Economy and Society Minister, spoke about the cooperation with Huawei Technologies Thailand: “The government encourages the integration of technology into the country’s administration which includes COVID-19 management, in line with the urgent policy as approved by the Cabinet. The Ministry has put significant focus on the safety of its citizens, both from a health and communication perspective, management of the ongoing spread of COVID-19.

Apart from the communication system provided to Bang Khun Thien field hospital by the Ministry and the National Telecom Public Company Limited, the Ministry has also recognized the capabilities and benefits of Huawei’s world-leading technologies for providing efficient world-class medical solutions as well as experts, to enhance and support Thai doctors and medical personnel’s efficiency and convenience. These technologies will help reduce the workload of the on-site staff, manage the patients with immediacy and provide remote health services to COVID-19 patients by medical experts and reduce the risk of infection for medical personnel. We would like to extend our gratitude towards Huawei Thailand for their full cooperation and a very quick installation of all the technologies within only two days.”

Dr. Suparach Suwattanaphim, the director of Bang Khun Thien field hospital, has also made some remarks regarding the technology implementation at the field hospital, “We would like to thank the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society and Huawei Technologies Thailand who have brought technology and communication network innovations including the patient screening, area management and control innovations to help handle the spread of COVID-19. The 1,000-bed Bang Khun Thien field hospital is the largest in Bangkok and the patient management system is much-needed. Obtaining technology from Huawei to manage these issues will greatly help the medical personnel’s workload as well as reduce the risk of infection. I am positive that the cooperation from every sector and the implementation of medical technology will quickly help improve the situation.”

Mr. Abel Deng, CEO of Huawei Technologies (Thailand) Co., Ltd, stated that “Amidst the ongoing spread of COVID-19, digital technology has become essential assistance for the public health sector in tackling the deficiency of medical equipment, medical personnel, and hospitals. As a leading technology company, Huawei Technologies (Thailand) Co., Ltd is a trusted ICT partner in Thailand. Huawei is pleased to support the government, hospitals, and medical personnel in handling the COVID-19 pandemic. We have gathered experts to complete the ICT solutions system installation to enhance the efficiency and stability of communications. The solutions system covers 5G Telemedicine, beneficial for research data exchange, treatment, prevention, and minimizing the infection risk for medical staff. The eLTE broadband trunking will also help enhance the efficiency and stability of communications via staff’s Private Network, especially for internal cooperation during such crucial time. This technology allows several types of communication including picture, voice, video, and location service without using a public network to avoid traffic congestion. Additionally, we have also installed the Inpatient area Intelligent Management to support public health services for COVID-19 patients with urgency and lessen the workload of medical staff on-site. The aforementioned solutions can also be effectively utilized on a 5G network. We strongly believe that these technologies will help lessen the workload of the personnel, deliver convenience to doctors and reduce exposure to infection for everyone working at the field hospital.”

This latest cooperation between Huawei and the Thai government to tackle the spread of COVID-19 follows previous collaborations in 2020, with Huawei providing leading innovations to reinforce its commitment - to deliver continuous support to the Thai society. In 2020, Huawei delivered 500,000 medical masks and 7 sets of Huawei Telemedicine Video Conferencing Solution, worth 10 million Thai baht to the Department of Disease Control and hospitals in Thailand to minimize the infection risk for medical staff. Additionally, Huawei also provided an AI-assisted solution to Ramathibodi Hospital and Siriraj Hospital, attempting to reduce the workload of Thai medical personnel at that time. The solution operates based on Huawei CLOUD and 5G, helping doctors analyze CT quantification results of cases of infection with high accuracy.