NIEM: Emergency care budget 16 baht/head, far too low
NIEM says Thailand spends just 16 baht per person a year on emergency medicine—about 60 times below global benchmarks—and urges urgent investment before New Year
Thailand’s National Institute for Emergency Medicine (NIEM) is urging the government to invest in emergency medical infrastructure ahead of the New Year travel period, warning that Thailand’s per-capita emergency medicine budget is far below international benchmarks. It said the rescue and emergency care system should be treated as essential national infrastructure on par with roads and electricity, to protect lives and reduce deaths and disability.
Paisan Khonjumpa, NIEM’s deputy secretary-general, together with Thanyarat Inthorn, director of the Emergency Medical Communication Group, shared strategic and resource-management insights for the New Year period with executives at Nation Group media, stressing that the emergency medical system is a “critical national infrastructure” for safeguarding the public.
Budget “60 times below global standard”
NIEM currently receives an average annual Emergency Medical Fund budget of 1.3 billion baht. Based on a Thai population of 66 million, that works out to about 16 baht per person per year, which NIEM says is 60 times below global standards. By comparison, countries with a full system meeting global standards invest as much as 1,000 baht per person per year.
The funding constraint, NIEM said, directly affects the ability to expand local-level infrastructure. Around 2,400 local administrative organisations out of more than 7,000 nationwide are still unable to operate emergency medical services, largely because each unit requires close to 3 million baht in investment to purchase emergency vehicles and hire 6–9 staff to ensure 24-hour coverage. Many smaller local bodies therefore choose to invest in other infrastructure, such as roads or electricity.
Digital upgrades: Cloud 1669 and AML location technology
NIEM said it has begun rolling out a Digital Cloud 1669 system in 18 provinces, shifting from copper telephone lines to a cloud-based system that can scale without limits. The system can help manage call surges during festivals by transferring calls to nearby areas, and supports softphone functions so volunteers can take emergency calls from anywhere rather than being physically stationed at an operations centre.
It also highlighted Advanced Mobile Location (AML) technology, which can identify a caller’s location automatically when they dial 1669. NIEM said the system can pinpoint location accuracy in urban areas to 5.6 metres, and vertical accuracy in high-rise buildings to 2.4 metres, allowing responders to identify the floor level even without a digital building plan. NIEM said this can cut search time by an average of four minutes.
NIEM also described a video-call rescue function, using SMS to send a link that lets callers open their camera so responders can guide basic life-saving steps, such as CPR or choking first aid. In September, NIEM said the combined use of location and video-call systems totalled more than 55,000 instances.
Nine-day New Year emergency plan
For the New Year period, NIEM said it will act as a central hub for resource relocation, working with the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation and the Public Health Ministry for nine days from December 26. The plan integrates three major databases—health incidents (Public Health), accidents (Transport), and disasters (Interior)—to deploy rapid-response units to high-risk points in advance.
NIEM also said it has prepared air-transport support through a “Sky Doctor” network of 28 units nationwide, using aircraft resources from the armed forces and other ministries to overcome traffic congestion during the holidays. It noted that in Bangkok, ambulances may take 20 minutes to reach patients, but with AML and effective management, response times could be shortened by around four minutes, helping protect the “golden minutes” for emergency patients.
Paisan said investing in emergency medicine is not only about buying vehicles or hiring staff, but about building a safety guarantee that functions as life-critical infrastructure. He said with adequate government support, Thailand can sustainably reduce deaths and long-term disability.
