News from Thailand – September 14, 2014
The first day of work of the new Minister of Health, Rajata Rajatanavin, started yesterday in the company of his official staff with a ritual at the guardian spirit of the ministry. He has announced an 'urgent review' of the policy and wants to set priorities with his staff within a month.
Rajata mentioned four: better access to health care, a long-term health policy, participation by all sectors and the promotion of a more skilled workforce and a better working environment.
There is more on Rajata's plate because things don't get along between the rural doctors and doctors in the central bureaucracy and that has repercussions for the National Health Security Office and the national insurance. Another sore point is that he has retained his position as president of Mahidol University. The dean of the music academy previously protested against this.
Rajata (also spelled Rachata) says it's easy to combine the two functions. "I'm doing my best for the ministry." At the university he will explain a few things during the next board meeting.
– Good news for passengers who are afraid that their smartphone or tablet will fail during a long-haul flight: Thai Airways International (THAI) now allows power banks to be taken along in hand luggage. There is one condition: the maximum capacity is 32.000 mAh, which is the guideline of the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
According to Smud Poom-on, director of crisis management, power banks have caused fires in airplanes in the past. A lithium battery can catch fire and explode above a certain temperature.
Batteries may not be carried in checked baggage. If many batteries should ignite, the internal fire extinguishing system can do little against it.
– Two students from the Pathumwan Institute of Technology (PIT) were shot dead on Friday night while riding a motorcycle on Thut Damri road in Bang Sue. And as if the devil were playing with it, on Friday morning a number of students from the Rajamangala University of Technology Rattanakosin were injured in a train fire.
The report says that the police are ruling out a connection between the two incidents, but the newspaper also writes that investigators are trying to establish a possible connection, which seems contradictory to me. It is also being investigated whether there is a connection with the shootings in August (Dusit Technical college) and February (PIT).
– Unscrupulous employment agencies scour the internet for people who want to work abroad. They are lured with jobs that turn out not to exist or they are placed with employers who treat them badly.
The Ministry of Employment is searching the internet for the criminal. It started with a campaign to educate job seekers about scams. When Immigration on Suvarnabhumi suspects that someone is going abroad to work, the Ministry is alerted.
The most popular destination for both legal and illegal work is South Korea. The Department of Employment urges those involved to contact her to verify that the workplace is okay. Many women who go to South Korea are offered jobs as masseuses and men are usually offered jobs in construction or agriculture.
– Two couples accuse the Songkhla hospital of causing the death or disability of their baby after they refused to pay a 'special fee' for the delivery. That special rate of 14.000 baht, intended for an operating room, entitled to 'special' treatment.
In one case, the mother could not afford the money, so she received 'normal' treatment. The baby died in childbirth in August. The hospital would have refused to hand over the medical report.
In the other case, dated June, the baby was born with a weak left arm. The parents also attribute this to the 'ordinary' treatment.
Both couples have filed a police report. A third couple who had paid also complained to the police. The hospital would have overcharged them.
The hospital director says that the hospital never refuses to treat patients. If mother and child are healthy, a natural birth is chosen. Caesarean section is only performed when necessary.
– Even more Songkhla, but now something completely different: waste processing. That province produces the most waste of all provinces, 2,4 million tons at the beginning of last year. The Pollution Control Department has commended the province for its rapid improvement in waste management and landfill management. Over the past year, the amount of accumulated waste has been significantly reduced through better management. [No idea what that means exactly.]
– Thailand aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent over the next six years. The Office of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning is currently working on a new environmental master plan to be ready by the UN Climate Change Conference in Peru in December and France next year.
– The NCPO has asked the parliamentary committee that is reviewing the 2015 budget to reserve an amount of 16,8 billion baht for emergencies, such as floods and natural disasters. On Tuesday, the NLA (emergency parliament) will discuss the budget that has already been approved in first reading and is now on the table in revised form. The 16,8 billion will be taken from various sub-budgets.
– Of the 28 airports in Thailand, six are profitable. The Civil Aviation Department wants to make them all self-sufficient and has hired a consultancy firm to create a revenue model for each airport. Privatization or a joint venture with the government is being considered, but so far companies have shown no interest in this. Nevertheless, the department is optimistic given the continued growth of budget airlines.
www.dickvanderlugt.nl – Source: Bangkok Post
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Known as Khun Peter (62), lives alternately in Apeldoorn and Pattaya. In a relationship with Kanchana for 14 years. Not yet retired, have my own company, something with insurance. Crazy about animals, especially dogs and music.
Enough hobbies, but unfortunately little time: writing for Thailandblog, fitness, health and nutrition, shooting sports, chatting with friends and some other oddities.
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With regard to the waste management in Songkhla, I note the following. To accumulate means to multiply or increase. So in the story it means that the increase in the waste mountain has been reduced by better management in waste processing.
@ Fran Nico Thanks for the clarification.
About those power banks.
During my last visit to Thailand with Lufthansa, the chair had a USB connection. I could connect my tablet to this.
I didn't see my tablet charging, but at least the battery level didn't drop.
china airlines had that too, but they didn't have it all. Last week I flew with KLM, which had WiFi on board but no USB connections. So the power bank just goes with me.
Incidentally, I always had that thing in my hand luggage, even on Thai flights, and it has never been a problem.
Dear Henk,
Unless something has been done about it in the last two years, I can tell you that the USB connection on the LH chairs does not work. I was a steward at LH until 2012, that's why I know this. The power connections in the C-class do work in most cases (unless your laptop needs too much power). I just received confirmation from a former colleague who still flies that these connections do work in Lufthansa's new C-Class.