It was an early start this morning - to allow plenty of time for traffic, of course. We arrived at the hospital about 30 minutes early but that meant time for coffee! I was really excited for a presentation about maternity and paediatric care, but it was an opportunity for the hospital's facilities to be put on show from an executive perspective, unfortunately again the meeting not matching the itinerary's focus.
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| 1 Ladprao Road, 111 Klong-Chan, Bang Kapi, Bangkok 10240 |
Vejthani Hospital was established in 1994 with the vision to be the leading private health services provider dedicated to delivery of high quality responses to society's changing health care needs.
Hospital capacity:
- 12 storey building (34,964 sq. m.)
- 500 inpatient beds
- 95 Grand Single rooms, 10 Suites, and 11 VIP Suites
- Over 300,000 patients per year
- International patients from over 40 different countries
- Most patients are Arabic
Staff:
- Over 700 full-time employees
- Over 300 physicians and dentists
- Over 200 nurses
- International Correspondence team
- Overseas offices in USA, UK, Australia, Canada, China, Bangladesh and UAE
Inpatient services:
- Adult Intensive Care
- Renal Dialysis Unit
- Paediatric Intensive Care
- Grand Wing Inpatient Department
- Arabic Inpatient Department
- Paediatric Inpatient Department
Outpatient services:
- 24 hour emergency care - Ambulance and Mobile Critical Care Fleet
- Consult rooms and peaceful environments for patients awaiting test results, including an area for massage
- Outpatient surgery
- Clinics including - allergy, breast, cardiology, colorectal surgery, dialysis, ENT, endocrinology, eye, gastroenterology and hepatology, hand, hematology, infectious diseases, nephrology, neurology, neurosurgery, obstetrics and gynecology, orthopaedics, plastic surgery, psychiatry, radiology, rehabilitation, respiratory, rheumatology, skin laser and cosmetics, spine, thoraric, ART (assisted reproductive technique), TJR (total joint replacement), and urology.
Facilities and Services:
- 3 separate check-in and service counters
- Arabic
- Thai
- International
- Multilingual interpreters
- Restaurants, coffee shops, Thai massage, and book and toy stores
- Internet services and WiFi
- 500 vehicle carpark
- Airport transfers and travel arrangements
- Prayer rooms
- In-house serviced apartments and hotel accommodation
- Multiple customer contact lines: English, Arabic, Bangla, Myanmar, Russian and Ethiopia hotlines
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| What seems to be a typical view from a private hospital ward room |
The hospital prides itself on its specialisation in ART and TRJ, adopting computer navigation and minimally-invasive techniques. New technologies extend to its Yuyama automated pharmaceutical robot, allowing for electronic medication ordering and smart dispensing (but not administration to the patient!). I felt as though there was still a huge focus on plastic and cosmetic surgery with the tag line being "Beauty is within reach".
We were given a tour of the hospital by Sawitree (DNS) and it all felt much the same to every other private hospital we had visited. I left a little confused as I asked one of our hosts about mental health facilities and I was told that no mental health facilities exist in the hospital, however the website states that there is a psychiatry clinic. Mental illnesses are still taboo in Thailand and temples are usually the first and only place where people who suffer from mental ailments go to seek help. Check out this article for an interesting read about participation of religious organisations in mental health care in Thailand.
Interestingly we also learnt here that organ donation is not yet legal in Thailand, and there is no voluntary system for donations, including bone marrow. Only family donations are accepted from living donors between 18-65 years old. In saying that, Australia is currently ranked only 17th in the developed world with its "opt in" consent law. Countries including Spain, Belgium, France, Norway and Italy achieve much higher donation rates with "informed consent" laws, where everyone is considered a donor unless they specify otherwise.
I could go really on with my reflection contrasting various aspects of Australia health care and its facilities to Thailand, but I will leave you with some food for thought. In all private hospitals we have visited to date there has been no mention of education regarding illness prevention or health promotion. Is this contributing to the focus of plastic and cosmetic surgeries? Rather than investing in pharmaceutical robots worth millions, could money be better spent, with money redirected to the public/rural/community sectors?
Institute of Applied Holistic Health Sciences
A change to our afternoon itinerary had the group under the impression we were off to learn about holistic care of the elderly - sounded strange as we had learnt that Thailand doesn't have 'nursing homes' like Australia does. Where we found ourselves was Siam Reiki at the Institute of Applied Holistic Health Sciences with two Reiki Masters: Katherine and Mohana.
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| Siam Reiki: 4115 Rama IV Road, Phra Khanong, Bangkok 10110 |
Having not heard much about Reiki in the past I was quite interested in this different approach to health and healing. Reiki (meaning universal energy) is a hands-on therapy focusing on energies and vibrational frequencies, and works by expanding auras and the seven chakras. A reiki therapist acts as a channel so that the energy is transferred to the recipient and thus identifying areas of congestion. The causes of these blockages can be spiritual, mental, emotional or physical and are usually detected before physical symptoms become apparent.
I won't go in to too much more detail, but reiki supports medical procedures and practices and neither conflicts or interferes with treatments. It aims to assist in healing of the body quickly and naturally. Reiki is also a consistent method for relieving and reducing stress, tension and hypertension by releasing congested energy produced by day-to-day activities.
Siam Reiki was founded in Bangkok in 2008, with the Institute of Applied Holistic Health Sciences established in 2010 in response to the increasing need for international standards of quality control and procedures in training. Courses are run to include an assessment of students to ensure the development of competent practitioners, and courses are recognised professionally enabling practice in medical, spa and health resort areas. Overall, it was a very interesting experience and I do believe there is a place for holistic practices in modern health care.
Upon arriving at the hotel, it began to rain very heavily. Kate and I were keen to check out the department store in Siam Paragon, and I bought myself another pair of shoes before heading to MBK for another wander around. It was a very successful shopping expedition!
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| Shopping in MBK: Sunscreen not available in Australia! |
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