MedPark Hospital opens Emerging Infectious Diseases & Acute Respiratory Infection Clinic
MedPark Hospital on Saturday (June 25) opened the Emerging Infectious Diseases & Acute Respiratory Infection Clinic (EIDARIC) to provide high-quality treatment to patients with Covid-19 as well as other emerging respiratory diseases, in compliance with the government’s plan of reopening the country and making Thailand a destination for medical tourism.
The opening ceremony on Saturday was held at the hospital which is located on Rama IV Road in Bangkok’s Khlong Toei district and was presided over by the Public Health Ministry’s permanent secretary Dr Kiattiphum Wongrajit, with the presence of the Department of Health Service Support’s director-general Dr Thares Krainairawiwong and Department of Disease Control’s deputy director-general Dr Sopon Iamsirithaworn.
“It is a good sign that private hospitals are improving their treatment standard to cope with Covid-19 and emerging diseases,” said Kiattiphum in the opening ceremony speech. “The government is ready to cooperate with the private sector to increase the country’s readiness for infectious diseases and improve our public health standard to welcome medical tourists after Thailand is fully reopened, as well as to treat the general public with proper disease control measures, to make sure that hospitals are a truly safe place from infectious diseases.”
Medpark Hospital managing director Dr Pongpat Patanavanich said that as Thailand is easing disease control measures, hospitals are still serving as a shelter for patients and those at risk of contracting Covid-19 and future diseases. “That’s why MedPark is employing a dual system in patient treatment which separates high-risk patients from general patients,” he said. “The EIDARIC is located outside the hospital’s building and has the negative pressure setting to reduce the risk of germs spreading to ease the concerns of patients and people visiting the hospital.”
Pongpat added that EIDARIC will provide one-stop services for Covid-19 and respiratory patients by specialized physicians, including a fast and accurate laboratory for RT-PCR tests and chest x-ray. “The clinic is fully air-conditioned for patient comfort and all air ducts are fitted with HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) filters to ensure that the air from the clinic is properly filtered before releasing to the environment,” he said.
