Ramathibodi Hospital adjusts services after fire at main building
Emergency room services suspended until Monday and non-urgent elective surgeries put on hold, hospital says
Ramathibodi Hospital in Bangkok’s Ratchathewi district will suspend some of its services until Monday (March 17) following a fire at its 9-storey main building (Building 1) on the evening of Tuesday (March 11).
Mahidol University’s Faculty of Medicine, which operates the hospital, said in an announcement on Thursday that the hospital will not accept new patients at its emergency room, nor any patient transfers until Monday, due to limitations for continuous treatment.
It urges patients in need of immediate medical attention to go to hospitals near their residences instead.
The hospital added that it will also postpone some surgical appointments for non-urgent patients, stating that affected patients will be contacted to reschedule.
Other outpatient units, except for the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Department, will open as usual, the announcement said.
Immediately after the fire was brought under control, the hospital shut down all services in Building 1 for 48 hours, including outpatient care and surgery, to assess the safety of the building.
Officials found that the fire started on the 2nd floor of the building, near the blood testing room and refrigeration unit. Initial findings point to an electrical issue as the cause, with CCTV footage showing sparks before the fire broke out.
There are no reports of injuries among patients or hospital staffers.
As the fire has damaged its blood bank, the Ramathibodi Hospital urged the public to donate blood by directly contacting the hospital at telephone numbers 0-2200-4202, 0-2200-4208, 0-2200-4209.
