STAFFING CRISIS
The staffing crisis at Patong hospital in Phuket has worsened with the resignations of two of the remaining three doctors. Of the 12 doctors originally assigned to the hospital only the director, Tawisak Netwong, remains.
Dr Tawisak earlier also expressed his intention to quit, but his resignation letter was put on hold by the public health permanent secretary.
Dr Tawisak said yesterday the hospital, which treats many foreigners, was in crisis, riddled with problems ranging from low pay to taxing workloads.
He will today explain to the House of Representatives public health committee the problems his hospital faces.
He had heard the committee wants to talk to the doctors who have resigned.
However, he said he no longer has the authority to order those doctors to do anything, since they have resigned.
All he could do is ask them to cooperate, he said. However, some of the doctors had already gone abroad to further their studies.
Dr Tawisak insisted the hospital needs a long-term solution.
It should be upgraded from a community hospital to a general hospital, otherwise even he would not be able to tolerate the heavy workload and would have to leave as well.
Dr Tawisak said even before the latest two resignations, seven doctors had quit in just the past month.
He said the ''backbreaking'' workload was the reason they left.
The hospital has had to enlist the help of doctors from outside the district who are now working on rotation to keep the hospital going.
The permanent secretary, Dr Prat Boonyawongwirot, said the ministry is assigning six or seven doctors from other hospitals to take turns working there.
This will continue until new permanent doctors can be recruited.
Dr Prat said the ministry must assess the hospital's capacity before upgrading it. However, more than 700 other community hospitals nationwide also wanted to be upgraded.
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