Encounters with heroes saving lives in Thailand’s ‘collapsing’ hospitals

I have nothing but praise for the staff at Khon Kaen Hospital. They are truly amazing considering the gross overcrowding! I have been admitted as an emergency case on three separate occasions and been on three different wards. Each ward was filled to nearly treble its capacity overflowing into the corridors. Yet, despite this, the staff were amazing and tremendously caring. Certainly, the system is creaking and desperately needs investment and an overhaul, but both the outpatient and inpatient systems still work despite this lack of resources and investment. Thank you, Khon Kaen Hospital staff.
Graemeaylward
I agree with you 100 per cent: Staff at Khon Kaen Hospital do a fantastic job, under very difficult conditions. Five years ago today I was admitted there, doctors gave me a 10-per-cent chance of surviving, yet I am still here five years later thanks to the skill and dedication of doctors and nurses. 
colinneil
So many are sick through poor diet, alcohol and substance abuse, and so few contribute to the healthcare system through taxes other than VAT, what can anybody expect?
Davehowden
Yeah, they are poor and it is their fault that they are poor; if they were “Good” people, they’d have money. Let the poor suffer at home and save the hospitals for the “Good” people, right? That is what Jesus/Buddha was going for...
Samui Bodoh
One can expect the hospitals to be crushed and many to go out of business, similar to what happened in Los Angeles when the emergency rooms were swamped by the uninsured – and for any and all ailments.
gk10002000
Part of the sad reality is the environment in Thailand is starting to make people more unhealthy, especially in the cities. Mosquito-borne diseases, smoking amongst men, chemical overuse in farming and the food supply. And with an ageing population, the cancers and complications are accelerating. There is no easy answer, but I would suggest that Thaksin was right when he said sell the Chinese subs and invest in hospitals.
Tailwagsdog
Most people in the UK know we get free healthcare – but we all put a lot into it from our wages. Thais do not. Their whole health system will collapse unless they start getting the money in from the people. Either that, or triple the foreigner rate (which is more likely) and leave more farang held hostage by hospitals.
RichardColeman
That is the problem with free healthcare: it’s great, but it’s not free. Thaksin was good for launching universal cover but no government ever funded it properly. Now we see what it leads too – hospitals that can’t cope with the number of patients. Take money from the Army and from the people. There are too many people using the system but not paying a single baht.
Robblok
Military governments by their very nature are not the milk of human kindness; they pretend they are but when it comes to a decisions between buying weaponry and financing hospitals it will be the submarines and tanks that will win every time. This latest health crisis is indicative of the way the junta is leading the country backwards. Education is also in trouble and is in a state of dysfunction, incompetence and is steeped in corruption. Yet the leader immerses himself in matters of importance such as feeding pigeons. If PM Prayut and his junta electoral team win the coming election the future looks bleak indeed for the poor people of Thailand. The friends of the junta and the rich and corrupt will prosper even more than they do now.
Cadbury
It has nothing to do with the junta: they have actually raised the health budget by percentage and actual figures above what it was under the Yingluck administration. But that still is not enough, because the free healthcare was never funded properly. Instead of blaming the junta without any proof maybe you should stick to facts.
Esso49
ThaiVisa