From left to right: NVTHC chairman Do van Drunen, Gerard Smit and Ben van Zoelen (photos Patrick Franssen)
A whole network of first-line GPs in Thailand. That is the ultimate goal of the founders of 'Be Well' next to the Banyan Resort in Hua Hin. Although that result is still far behind the horizon, as initiator Haiko Emanuel noticed last Friday evening during the presentation of the GP post for the Dutch Association of Hua Hin and Cha Am.
Former GP Gerard Smit and former cardiologist Ben van Zoelen act as advisors in this setup. Bangkok will not be part of the network due to its abundance of medical facilities. Incidentally, it will take at least another six months before the doors of the general practitioner in Hua Hin open. The piles for the foundation were placed last week.
According to the initiators, Thailand has a great need for primary health care. Foreign patients now go directly to a hospital, but sometimes get lost in a medical jungle, often focused on making turnover and profit. Consultation with the top of the Bangkok Hospital in Hua Hin shows that the hospital is extremely happy with the set-up of this care. In the absence of aftercare, patients stay in the hospital for too long. And according to former general practitioner Gerard Smit, that is simply a hotbed of bacteria. The hospital realizes that after-care and home care is too expensive to provide this itself and is pleased that 'Be Well' is taking on this care. Thailand has a fantastic medical infrastructure, but an initial professional assessment before the patient goes/has to go to hospital is lacking,” says Smit. A hospital is too expensive for home care and is very happy with the collaboration with Be Well.
Initiator Haiko Emanuel
Contact with Dutch insurers shows that they are also enthusiastic. They are often confronted with (too) high bills for unnecessary treatments and a multitude of medicines. According to Emanuel, the treatment at Be Well falls under Dutch coverage.
Emanuel stated at the meeting of the NVTHC that he still has many questions. He called on those present to put these above all and to criticize them. “We want to learn and not dictate,” said Emanuel. He has been involved in business development in Asia since 1983 and has worked for Stork, Campina, Nutricia and Philips, among others.
Initially, Be Well will start with a doctor, two nurses and a physiotherapist. The female doctor in question has Thai nationality and therefore no problems with a work permit. She did an 'internship' at a Dutch GP to learn the tricks of the trade. The post has a small laboratory and a pharmacy. If more extensive medical care is necessary, you will be referred immediately.
If desired, Be Well also makes home visits in Hua Hin and the surrounding area and focuses in particular on permanently resident foreigners. Hotels with sick tourists can also call on the doctor's office. The post also wants to focus on vaccinations and on conducting population surveys among Dutch people who have been deregistered.
About this blogger
- Almost 20 years ago, journalist Hans Bos moved to Bangkok. Almost from the beginning, he was involved in the birth of Thailandblog. As a journalist, he worked for Limburg newspapers and for the travel trade journals of what was once called Elsevier. Hans (76) has lived in Hua Hin for 14 years, with his wife Raysiya and daughter Lizzy. He was secretary and vice-chairman of the Dutch association in Hua Hin and Cha Am for about nine years.
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Just a few questions:
1. Why a GP network only for foreigners? Is that all right for the Thais then? The 'general practitioner' in the hospital and the local doctor's posts are terribly cheap and can simply be paid for in cash. Is this discrimination?
2. The network will focus on foreigners who live here permanently. But I don't think they are covered by health insurance in the home country. The costs of the services of the network GP must therefore be paid by themselves, in my opinion.
3. Foreigners who live here permanently are in principle already vaccinated and these vaccinations usually apply for 15 to 25 years. Not a very big market, I think. These vaccinations are also available in a Thai hospital at a relatively low cost.
To the best of my knowledge, the main problem of expats here is NOT general practitioner care and NOT the quality of hospitals and NOT the waiting times for treatment (which are sometimes MUCH longer in the Netherlands; private hospitals live partly on fast service to foreign patients) but the impossibility to be insured at a reasonable cost and coverage if one lives here permanently. How many foreign expats are 'forced' to return to their home country every year, some only to continue their health insurance?
I think the initiative to open a Dutch (general) doctor's practice in Hua Hin is fantastic
Idea. All the more so since there will also be cooperation with the Dutch health insurance.
We ourselves live permanently in Thailand and have plans to move to Hua Hin.