Short-staffed Bangkok hospitals overwhelmed by new Covid treatment scheme: RDS
The Rural Doctors Society has criticised the government’s new Covid-19 treatment policy after the disease was removed from the Universal Coverage for Emergency Patients (UCEP) scheme on March 1.
Under UCEP conditions, Covid patients were eligible for three days of free treatment at any hospital – public or private – before being treated under their state health insurance scheme. But after March 1, those who do not require critical care have to pay their own medical bills if they choose a private hospital. Non-critical patients can still receive free Covid treatment under home or community isolation.
Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha said the move would help the public health system manage resources efficiently while the public could rest assured that those who test positive would get proper care.
The new policy for non-critical patients is dubbed “Jer Jaek Job”, which refers to three steps. First, the individual tests positive via an ATK. Second, they are given medicine based on their symptoms, either Fah Talai Jone (Andrographis Paniculata) or Favipiravir tablets. Third, they remain in home/community isolation until they recover.
The Rural Doctors Society (RDS) said the flaw in this plan is the second step since medical facilities have too few staff to diagnose infected patients and prescribe drugs based on their symptoms.
“All 69 public health service centres in Bangkok have reported they are short-staffed as the number of daily infected patients is rising rapidly,” said RDS in a Facebook post on Sunday,
“Major hospitals are no better and have to issue queue cards to limit the number of patients they can treat per day. Ramathibodi Hospital can treat only 200 Covid-19 patients per day, while Rajavithi Hospital can treat only 150.”
“When he told people to have faith in ‘Jer Jaek Job’, PM Prayut clearly did not know that medical facilities are not prepared to handle the current daily infection rate, especially in urban areas where population density is high,” it added.
The RDS urged the government and Bangkok Metropolitan Administration to boost staff numbers at hospitals and medical facilities in Bangkok so that Jer Jaek Job could be implemented efficiently.