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The government Friday encouraged public and private hospitals across the country to work together through the latest coronavirus outbreak, the government said on Friday, emphasising that there was not yet a shortage of beds overall.
While some private hospitals are truly at full capacity, others are not – the problem is that some private hospitals may not be cooperating in line with government protocols, according to Somsak Akksilp, director-general of the Department of Medical Services at the Ministry of Public Health.
He was speaking at a press conference to address concerns over hospital bed shortages amid the latest surge of Covid-19 cases.
“According to the numbers we got from Thursday night at 8pm, there are still 300 beds available in private hospitals in Bangkok,” the director-general said. “The latest update was on Friday morning, and there are still many hundreds left.”
Ever since the first wave of the outbreak began last year, the Ministry has set up programmes and systems for public and private hospitals and relevant organizations within the country to keep each other informed during the pandemic, according to Somsak. One element is a database system called CO-WARD, where private hospitals are required to register, report and offer resources to each another according to government guidelines.
“Those principles from last year are the same, nothing has changed,” he said.
“We are not asking for the private hospitals who are already at full capacity to treat and receive every patient that comes their way, but to follow the guidelines and transfer the patients accordingly.”
Somsak added that through the department’s cooperation with the Princess Mother National Institute on Drug Abuse Treatment, they are now able to secure 40 new beds on Friday. Meanwhile, Thammasat University is working to set up a field hospital within this week, adding another 450 beds.
In the meantime, the Department of Medical Services are working with the Department of Health Service Support to set up so-called “Hospitels” – private rooms in hotels – within one to two days, which will add 500 – 1,000 more beds.
“The Thai government has a policy to treat every single Covid-19 patient in a hospital and not at home — no matter their symptoms or rate of severity,” the Director-General said.
During the first wave of the outbreak, hospitals in the Greater Bangkok and Bangkok Metropolitan Area had a capacity of more than 2,000 beds for Covid-19 patients, with 65 per cent of those belonging to private hospitals, according to Somsak. Around 40 per cent of the patients were admitted in private hospital beds by the end of August.
For additional information or concerns, please contact the department’s Hotline at 1668 for bed capacity information and 1422 for other concerns regarding the outbreak.