Clinics to care for workers hit by job-related illnesses

A total of 109 hospitals in association with the Social Security Office (SSO) have launched clinics catering to insured people who fall ill because of work.

SSO secretary-general Suradej Waleeittikul said 103 are at hospitals attached to the Public Health Ministry, five university hospitals and another run by the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA).

They are aimed at covering 9.33 million workers and 357,723 workplaces, he said.

Workers who fall sick or who are injured often lose earnings and their employers are obliged to put more money in the SSO’s Workers’ Compensation Fund in the event that their employees lose an organ, are disabled or die, he said.

In response, the SSO and the Public Health Ministry have rolled out “workrelated disease clinics” so employees who fall ill because of work get proper care, he said.

The clinics perform medical diagnosis, provide medical treatment, offer surveillance and preventive measures and find ways to reduce work-related accidents, he said. They also offer consultations and promote occupational health and safety among firms.

According to Dr Suradej, 86,346 workers were injured or fell ill due to work last year and 1.48 billion baht from the Workers’ Compensation Fund was spent treating them. He said employees who suspect they fell ill due to work can undergo free medical checks at these clinics.

Employers of ill workers, meanwhile, can submit a “Gor Tor 16” form, giving details about their employee’s illness, to provincial or local SSO offices.

The workers will then be referred to hospitals where the clinics are situated.

In the event insured people want to receive treatment at their selected hospitals which have work-related disease clinics, they need to undergo checks to find out whether their illness is work-related, said Dr Suradej.

If that proves the case, they would be referred to the clinics.

When workers are found to have fallen sick due to their work, their employers must submit the Gor Tor 16 form to the SSO within 15 days, which would allow the hospitals to claim the medical expenses from the SSO’s Workers’ Compensation Fund, he noted.

Even if an employee’s illness is diagnosed as not work-related, the fee for the checkup will be covered by the fund, Dr Suradej said. People can contact Hotline 1506 around the clock or contact any SSO office for more information.