“Chalong Hospital needs B56,929,400 to build an operating room with medical equipment,” Chalong Hospital Director Chuchart Nitchawatana told The Phuket News.
The new ‘operating room’ is to have six separate ‘operating theatres’, Mr Chuchart added.
“Chalong Hospital has received only B4.7 million from the MoPH for the whole operating room project,” Mr Chuchart confirmed.
“The Phuket Provincial Administrative Organisation [PPAO] has provided additional support by funding B10mn, but it’s still not enough to cover costs, including operating room materials.
“Right now, we [Chalong Hospital] are now seeking further financial support from Rawai, Karon and Chalong Municipalities,” Mr Chuchart said.
Chalong Hospital is positioned to be the main government hospital for residents in those three municipal areas, he explained.
The Ministry of Phuket Health is represented in Phuket by the Phuket Public Health Office (PPHO), yet no one at the PPHO was willing to be named in explaining the lack of budget funding for the only government hospital in the south of the island.
One of the PPHO’s ‘Executive Committee ‒ who specifically asked not to be named ‒ confirmed to The Phuket News that a budget request for the full B56.9mn has been submitted to the central MoPH head office in Bangkok.
However, the executive noted, “While Chalong Hospital can request funding, the process takes time”.
ON ITS OWN
Chalong Hospital Director Mr Chuchart explained that when Chalong Hospital was built, and first opened, it was operated under the administration of Vachira Phuket Hospital in Phuket Town, which serves as the main government hospital on the island.
However, that is no longer the case, Mr Chuchart said.
“Chalong Hospital does not operate under Vachira Phuket Hospital anymore. Both hospitals are independently managed, with separate budgets and individual allocation processes,” he said.
“Before Oct 1, 2020, Chalong Hospital was under Vachira Phuket Hospital, and received assistance in terms of budget for various equipment, But due to the continuous growth in patient numbers, we decided to separate from Vachira in order to independently develop and manage our own facilities,” he explained.
Chalong Hospital now serves more than 160,000 patients each year, Mr Chuchart noted.
“However, some patients still need to be referred to Vachira Phuket Hospital for surgery, and nearly 1,000 are admitted through private hospitals each year. This is why we urgently need to build our own operating room,” he said.
“The doctors and medical staff we’ve sent for further training are expected to return in July, and we aim to have the operating room completed and ready for service by December this year.”
Chalong Hospital plans to build six operating rooms in total, “but we will start with three due to urgent needs,” Mr Chuchart continued.
“These should be sufficient to meet patient needs during the first half of next year, with plans to expand as needed. The operating rooms will be located on the fourth floor,” he added.
HAND IN POCKET
The lack of funding by the MoPH has made it necessary for Chalong Hospital to call for donations to have the operating rooms built and fitted out.
“We accepting donations to build modern, safe operating rooms. We still need B38,696,198.10mn to reach our goal,” Mr Chuchart said before the Songkran break..
“The amount of donations we have received so far is only B225,201.88*... We are now in the process of finalising the blueprints and having a company selected by committee [as per government requirements]. We hope to have this part of the process completed by the end of April,” Mr Chuchart said.
“And we will accept donations until Sept 30, then start the construction,” he added.
* The Phuket News notes that as of Thursday (Apr17), donations totalled B274,116.76.
SAME OLD SONG
The call for donations for Chalong Hospital is the same as required by Vachira Phuket Hospital to make its ‘first cancer treatment centre’ a reality, the PPHO Executive Committee member told The Phuket News.
“For the radiation treatment centre at Vachira, the only medical equipment being provided by the MoPH is the radiation machine, which alone costs B300mn,” he said.
“However, the budget allocated for the radiation building is insufficient, and this part of the funding has not yet been approved.
“If Vachira Phuket Hospital didn’t call for donations, they would have to submit another budget plan, wait for approval and then wait for the funds to actually arrive,” the PPHO executive said.
“The bureaucratic process takes too much time for the hospital to meet the increasing number of patients… Most hospitals can’t wait because people need treatment, and the building needs to be completed quickly,” he added.
“Phuket has a small number of registered residents but many hospitals with high-budget plans, and there are several other factors to consider as well.
“There are currently 13,533 government hospitals across the country, and the reason for the delays and budget limitations is that many hospitals in other provinces are also waiting for funding,” he noted.
“That’s why most hospitals decide for donations, requesting a budget is difficult. Even if the budget is approved and construction starts, it often proves to be insufficient, and asking for additional funds adds another complex step in the process,” he said.
“Similarly, Chalong Hospital couldn’t wait to build an operating room, so they rushed to complete it by calling for donations and handled it themselves.
“The MoPH doesn’t have enough for every hospital,” he added.
ALL SILENT
Regardless, the PPHO executive member gave no explanation as to why the MoPH was so consistent and so meagre in its providing of funds for government healthcare in the one province that generates more income for the national economy than any other province outside Bangkok.
Government officials have been loud in announcing that Phuket generated B497 billion (B497,000,000,000) in tourism revenue last year alone. This year officials are hoping to break the half-trillion-baht barrier.
Further, despite several visits to Phuket by Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra already this year in the name of reviewing “the progress of critical infrastructure projects”, funding for government hospitals on the island have never been mentioned as a critical issue discussed during her visits.
Meanwhile, the call for donations goes on. Phuket residents and businesses stepped up for Vachira’s cancer centre fundraising, easily surpassing the B290mn required, with the extra funds to pay for essential medical equipment to be used at the centre.
As with all donations made to the Vachira fundraising effort, any donations to the building of the new operating room at Chalong Hospital will be granted twice the value of the donation as a tax deduction within the tax year.
For more information about the Chalong Hospital fundraising drive, visit Chalong Hospital’s website (https://chalonghospital.moph.go.th/) or call 076-384342-3 (ext. 2702) or 088-2940994, available 24/7. People can also email donate.chalonghospital@gmail.com.
Donations can be made directly to:
Account Name: ‘Donations to improve the operating room at Chalong Hospital’
Account Number: 664-2-95110-7
Bank: Krungthai Bank, Chalong Branch