Ministry to review new management style for hospitals

He said he has heard that there are just three doctors working at Patong Hospital at present, and that the ministry has asked the Talang and Vachira Phuket hospitals nearby to provide six doctors to help out temporarily.

Heavy workload and low wages were the main reasons behind the Patong exodus, he said, adding that his ministry was working to resolve the shortage.

Meanwhile, director of Patong Hospital, Dr Taveesak Netwong, said temporary assistance from the six doctors was not a good enough solution because they would mostly be doing day shifts.

He said the ministry should consider longterm resolutions by recruiting new doctors and paying them better because the hospital was located in a tourist area and the workload was massive.

Taveesak also said that making Patong Hospital into a public organisation was a good idea because it would make its management more flexible and effective. If changing the management was not possible, then the ministry should consider turning it into a general hospital, he said.