Hua Chiew seeks expansion

Bangkok’s Hua Chiew Hospital, owned by the Poh Teck Tung Foundation, plans to expand its operation over the next few years, says chief executive officer Suthee Ketsiri.

The expansion will include increasing the number of beds to 500 from the current 338, he said, with the number of both local and foreign in-patients expected to grow.

One of Bangkok’s best-known and nonprofit hospitals, Hua Chiew classifies its patients into two groups: those under the Social Security Fund and patients who pay for themselves.

The Poh Teck Tung Foundation has extended support to the hospital for more than a decade, paying around 1.2 billion baht over the past 10 years.

“Our hospital receives some 500,000 patients a year and the number increases every year. So, we plan to expand our services to serve the rising demand,” he said.

Hua Chiew Hospital has invested 35 million baht on a magnetic resonance imaging scanner to serve its own patients and those at other nearby medium-sized hospitals that do not have their own machine.

Mr Suthee said Hua Chiew will continue to focus on specialist treatments since it aims to be the leading medium-sized hospital that caters to foreign patients.

He said the number of patients from abroad grows every year, with the majority from China and other Asian countries as well as the US.

Mr Suthee said the hospital is now facing a serious shortage of nurses since it needs up to 140 more to help serve the rising number of patients.

In order to solve the problem, the hospital has been working with Hua Chiew University to help train more nurses to meet the needs of the local medical industry.

“We expect to have 40 new nurses next year. They are currently on Hua Chiew University’s special scholarship programme,” he said.

“It is not only our hospital that is facing a dearth of nurses. We want the government to help produce more nurses to serve the medical industry,” said Mr Suthee, adding that the shortage could hinder Thailand’s aim of becoming a regional medical hub.