Medics condemn selection process for new NHSO chief

Medics led by the Thai Federation of General and Central Hospital Doctors’ chairperson Dr Prachumporn Boonchareon yesterday protested at state hospitals across the country, carrying banners with messages such as: “We do not want anyone with a troubled past as new NHSO chief”.
The new NHSO secretarygeneral will be selected today by 30 board members. They will vote to select one of three persons shortlisted from nine original applicants by the selection committee. The successful candidate will oversee a budget of Bt100 billion to run the universal healthcare scheme. About 48 million of the country’s 65 million people have registered under the scheme.
The three candidates are former NHSO secretarygeneral Dr Winai Sawasdivorn, Dr Somkiat Wattanasirichaikul of Srinakharinwirot University’s Faculty of Medicine, and Dr Charnwit Tarathep, the Public Health Ministry’s healthcare system development expert.
Dr Churdchoo Sriwattana, a chairperson of the Medical and Public Health Workers Alliance, said her agency had discovered that two selection committee members lacked legitimacy as they had a potential conflict of interest.
The two members “have been working closely with the NHSO. One of them was funded by the NHSO,” she said.
A group of medical workers has now called on the PM to restart the selection process.
However, NHSO acting secretary general Dr Pratheep Thanakijchareon has insisted the selection process is transparent and will continue.
“The whole selection process complied with the law. We checked the profiles, qualifications and CVs of all candidates before proposing their names to the executive board members to make a decision,” he said.