New official policy requiring state hospitals to treat a larger number of people awaiting Thai citizenship went into effect yesterday. However, in Tak province, where immigrant workers are straining medical resources, better management and more financing is still needed.
Government hospitals in five districts shoulder expenses worth about Bt110 million every month to treat immigrant workers, of which around Bt20 million is spent on treating people awaiting Thai citizenship.
He said a group of doctors working in state hospitals in border provinces will soon be meeting Public Health Minister Jurin Laksanavisit, who initiated the policy, to discuss a threepoint proposal:
The budget allocation should take into account input from local doctors;
A supervisory body to oversee this policy be set up;
Regulations be put in place to ensure that this policy is carried on in the long term.
