The network has asked the Council for Democratic Reform (CDR) to support health reforms by agreeing to their 11 suggestions, which includes among others free medical treatment instead of paying Bt30 per visit to a doctor, and also using identification cards instead of the current "gold card", claiming it would save millions of baht.

The requests were handed to the CDR yesterday evening following a press conference in Nonthaburi.

"We have heard that a group of officials at the Health Ministry had tried to lobby the CDR to return to the old system, which centralised the budget and management at the ministry," said the network's Saree Ongsomwang.

"Our stand is the CDR should not listen to this small group of medical officers," another network member Kua Ketkaew said.

Yuphadee Sirisinsuk, a network member and also a member of

the National Health Reform Committee, said last week's coup had caused turbulence in the health service about the Bt30 policy - particularly in the provinces.

Both doctors and patients expressed their confusion through the Health System Reform Office (HSRO) including those in Samut Songkhram, Chiang Mai, Trad, Bangkok and Khon Kaen.

"Many patients were calling us to confirm if the Bt30 health card is still valid. They said they are reluctant to visit the doctor as they fear being charged more," Renu Phoo-aworn, a local HSRO officer said.

"In one case, one patient was charged Bt80 per visit instead of the normal Bt30," another officer from Chiang Mai said.

Public health officers in other provinces confirmed the confusion among patients about the validity of the Bt30 card after the coup.

"There have been incorrect signals sent to villagers even though the CDR has announced that the Bt30 policy will continue," Boonyuen Siritham, from Samut Songkhram, added.

Kua said an official letter is needed to confirm to both local health officers and patients from the CDR and the Health Ministry.

 "We also call on that group of health officials at the ministry to stop pushing for the reversal of health reforms," the statement said.

Apart from using ID cards instead of gold cards and the free-of-charge visits to the doctor, the network's suggestions included the merging of all the three main health systems in Thailand into one system with a standard quality of service.

They also urged the establishment of two new funds: one for helping doctor-patients conflicts that reach the legal process, and the other for allowing immigrant labour to have access to the current health system. 

Saree added that this will be the last year the budget will be allocated through the Health Ministry, according to the Health Reform Act. Next year, the money will be directly allocated to local health authorities.

Kamol Sukin

The Nation