If you are planning to visit Thailand for an extended period of time, you must prepare for all outcomes and this involves hospitals.
Nobody likes to be in hospital and the thought of being ill abroad can be daunting for many people and thoughts of hospitals abroad will be even more daunting.
In this blog, you will learn more about how to cope with hospitals in Thailand and how to access a GP if needed.
Types Of Hospitals In Thailand
There are two main types of hospitals within Thailand. There are private and public hospitals that are available in Thailand.
Public Hospitals
Public hospitals or government hospitals as the same suggests are ran by the Thai government. These hospitals focus on low-cost medical treatments for Thai citizens.
Public hospitals always are crowded with people seeking medical assistance. You can arrive early in the morning and you can spend most of your day waiting to be seen by a doctor.
If you are then admitted to the hospital, the conditions that you will face are less than desirable. Hospital wards are overcrowded and the equipment that is used is old.
The level of English in a public hospital is basic but staff are known to be friendly and they try to help you in whatever way possible.
Private Hospitals
In Thailand, private hospitals should be your first choice when needing to visit a hospital. In a private hospital, you can discuss your sickness with your doctor in detail which isn’t possible in public hospitals.
The level of medical specialists is often increasing in private hospitals as they are trying to lure more and more people to choose a private hospital.
With a private hospital, you obviously have to pay but the cost is much cheaper than private hospitals in the west.
For a basic visit to a hospital expect to pay up to 3,000 baht (£65.37) but this price is worth it for the level of service that you will receive.
If you don’t have the money to pay for private hospitalisation, ensure that you have travel insurance as they can either help you cover the cost or they can contribute towards it.
When seeking a hospital, make sure that the hospital has been certified by the Joint Commission International as this is the verification of a hospitals standard of quality.
GPs In Thailand
In Thailand, it is known that there is a shortage of General Practitioners (GPs) and people go through a lot of trouble to be able to find a suitable GP.
Instead of doing this, it is much easier to book in with a hospital and speak to a specialist who can help you with the issue.
Top Hospitals In Bangkok
Below there will be a list of some of the best hospitals in Bangkok if you ever need them.
- Bumrungrad International Hospital
- Samitivej Sukhumvit Hospital
- BNH Hospital
- Siriraj Piyamaharajkarun Hospital
- Ramathibodi Hospital
Closing Thoughts
Overall, we hope that no one has to use our advice about Thai hospitals as this would mean that you are ill and cannot enjoy yourself.
Just remember to make sure that if you go to the hospital, you make an informed choice as this can determine the time it takes for you to recover.