FDA, private sector join hands for providing medical services

Being in remote areas where there are limited medical equipment, people in the isolated region feel left behind as they do not have access to medical treatment.

In a bid to improve the standard of living of people in the rural areas and eliminate health care divide between the isolated region and the rest of the country, Public Health Ministry has introduced the so called "Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Private Sector Collaboration to develop health care system in the country" project.

The project, initiated by the Public Health Ministry's deputy permanent secretary, Dr Siriwat Tiptaradol when he was the FDA's secretary general two years ago, is designed to promote the accessibility of health care services in the rural areas.

Instead of waiting for the budget from the government, this project has encouraged the private sector to support funding to rural hospitals so they could purchase the essential medical equipment to provide treatment to patients.

" Even if we have installed the universal health care scheme for several years many patients especially in rural areas still could not gain access to med¬ical treatment as the hospitals lacked medical equipment to provide better health care to patients," said Siriwat.

He explained that as the rural hospitals lacked medical equipment and could not provide medication to patients, the hospitals had to refer patients to the regional and general hospitals where there are medical equipment. But most patients do not want to go to other hospitals which are located far away from their home. They also lack money to pay for the transportation cost.

" We want to ensure that patients will receive the right medication from the hospital near their homes. They do not have to travel and waste a lot of money to receive treatment in regional or general hospitals located far away from their homes,"

So far, at least 15 rural hospitals across country, mostly located in bor¬der provinces, still lacked essential medical equipment and medicines to treat patients such as vital sign moni¬tor, fetal monitor, infusion pump, ultrasound monitor, and anti malar¬ia drugs.

To help patients and other residents of Mae Hong Son province receive medication without having to move to the big cities. AstraZeneca, one of the world's leading pharmaceutical companies based in London, has given Bt 3 million this year to the Rural Doctor Association to purchase essential medical equipment and medicines for rural hospitals across the country.

The donation was made for essential medications such as antimalaria drugs and medical equipment for dental care, Xray machine, and hospital beds.

"We believe that real progress can only be made through the commitment of all related stakeholders, including government, NGOs and the international community as well as the private sector. Only by working together can sustainable improvements be achieved," said a president of AstraSeneca Thailand, Fredrik Andersh.

As the program has become a long term Corporate Social Responsibility project for the company, he also wants to invite other private companies, particularly pharmaceutical companies, to join this program and commit to making a contribution to improving health care in Thailand and other countries in the developing world.

Dr Walairat Chaifu, director of the Mae Hong Son province's Pang Ma Pha hospital said in the past , the hospital had to wait for a long time before receiving the annual budget from the government to purchase essential medical equipment for use in the hospital. This affected the health care services provided to patients in local areas.

The hospital had to send patients to receive medical treatment in other hospitals where were far away from patients' home.

But from now, the hospital can provide the right medication and diagno¬sis to patient in local areas after receiv¬ing the vital signs monitor donated by the private company.

It is a meaningful medical equipment for patients and medical workers especially for nurses as it helps them to automatically record important patient data for both routine assess¬ment and continuous monitoring. Nurses can accurately collect patient data and spend more time on their other routine work.

However, other rural hospitals such as Pai Hospital located in the same province with Pang Ma Pha Hospital also needs support from the government to purchase s new vital sign mon¬itor in the operating room.

The director of hospital, Dr Sarawuth Suphanpitak said the hospital had only one vital sign monitor which has been used for 10 years and never been calibrated or checked because it was needed as reserve for emergency cases during the past sev¬eral years.

" We need a new one to use with patients in case the hospital has to send the other for calibration and annual check," he said. " Imagine how could patients receive the right medication and diagnosis if the hospital is still using the medical equipment which has never been checked ," he added.