What is a field hospital? A medical blogger explains…

Field hospitals are gaining coverage in the media nowadays, along with the rising number of Covid-19 cases in Thailand. However, since their function is rarely explained clearly, medical blogger Dr Sandy decided to feature the hospitals in her post on Monday.

 

On her Facebook page “Mor Sandy Mee Rueang Lao” (Dr Sandy has stories to tell), the blogger recounts her visit to a field hospital in Samut Sakhon province, where the latest outbreak emerged in mid-December. The hospital was set up in the grounds of the Wattana factory in Muang district.

 

Dr Sandy explained that field hospitals are being set up to serve Covid-19 patients which conventional hospitals cannot deal with. Conventional hospitals mainly treat patients who are ill, while field hospitals take care of asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic coronavirus cases.

 

“The patients are isolated in the field hospitals for 14 days, until they pass the period of infectiousness. If their condition worsens during this quarantine period, medical personnel will send them to hospital for more treatment,” she said.

 

Dr Sandy pointed out that contact between medics and patients at field hospitals is limited to reduce infection risks, with isolation wards separated from the clinics where doctors check the patients.

 

The blogger added that interpreters were on hand to help doctors bridge the language gap with foreign patients. The Samut Sakhon outbreak included many cases among the Burmese migrant worker community.

 

Dr Sandy also sought to quell fears among local residents, saying the existence of field hospitals is safe for people living nearby. She explained that strict hygiene practices governed the treatment of wastewater and elimination of infectious waste from field hospitals, overseen by government officials.

 

She also mentioned that all field hospital patients were transported by ambulance and guarded by soldiers to prevent any from escaping from hospitals.