Second hospital for prisoners approved for Chatuchak near first hospital
A 12,968-square metre plot of land in Bangkok’s Chatuchak district has been earmarked for construction of a second Medical Correctional Hospital to provide quality medical care to inmates as well as to the general public, following Deputy PM and Justice Minister ACM Prajin Juntong’s approval to the plan.
The land plot is located within the same area of the Lat Yao corrections facility compound on Ngam Wong Wan Road where the country’s first – and so far only – Medical Correctional Hospital can be found.
The proposed hospital – which requires a Bt1.5 billion budget to build – is intended to help elevate the standard of medical treatment provided to inmates and to share the workload now borne by the first hospital of its kind, said Corrections Department chief Pol Colonel Narat Sawettanan.
The Royal Thai Police has provided advice on the layout for the proposed hospital for safety and security reasons, as the facility would also provide medical treatment to the public, he said.
“This is a new dimension, as the Corrections Department’s work in developing medical treatment for inmates has reached the point where people in the outside society could learn about how inmates are treated, boosting the department's transparency and good image,” he added.