Public health officials struggle with great turnover, stressed staff, and a greater emphasis on work-life balance.
There needs to be a solution to the work-life imbalance among Thailand’s health staff. The most recent instance came from a doctor-turned-actress who claimed on Facebook that her overworked work schedule at an out-of-town doctor had severely ruined her life to the point where she left the position.
The Public Health Ministry still faces a challenge in maintaining best practices in health care at public facilities while improving and fairing the working conditions for doctors and medical staff across the country.
The situation was a pain for the public health system, according to Jaruayporn Srisaalux, deputy director of the Health Systems Research Institute( HSRI ).
She claimed that younger generations’ attitudes toward function have changed. Younger people prefer to leave for a new location that you meet their needs because they place more emphasis on work-life harmony.
Jaruayporn: A major problem with work-life stability
Additionally, specialists believe that the pay they receive in state-owned hospitals is insufficient compensation for the demanding task. A standard doctor makes about 50, 000 baht on average in a public hospital, but they can make twice that amount in private hospitals.
She claimed that one way to make up for the deficit is to hire more physicians, but state-owned facilities are unable to do this because of a tight budget and some regulations that make solutions challenging to put into practice.
She suggested that the Ministry of Public Health expand the Banphaeo General Hospital ( Public Organization ) model to other hospitals across the country.
She claimed that in 2000, Banphaeo General Hospital went from being a state-owned clinics to being run by the general public. The government at the time had a plan for administrative transformation with the goal of cutting the state’s budget.
As a result, the hospital may grow its company line to make more money and get more doctors and other medical staff because it is freely managed by professionals.
She claimed that it has more freedom to address a variety of issues, such as the lack of staff and funding.
She also mentioned a different problem that emerged when the public health issue became politicized. The government at the time adhered to the idea that under the 30-baht general medical scheme, every citizen could receive medical care.
” The policy was created to benefit 49 million recipients of the universal health care cards without a thorough screening procedure.” Not everyone is weak. She stated that the plan needs to be changed to ensure that it won’t ultimately damage the nation’s public health system.
When questioned about the lack of doctors, she responded that raising wages, enhancing welfare, and providing assurances of career advancement would help draw more physicians to state institutions.
There are 60, 000 doctors working for the government nationally, 24, 649 of whom are employed by the organization.
Now, there are 10.27 physicians for every 10,000 people, compared to nearly 25:10,000 in Singapore, Japan, South Korea, and the UK’s 30,00.
Meanwhile, Dr. Attaporn Limpanyalert, deputy chief of the National Health Security Office( NHSO ), stated that the NHSO has been making every effort to lessen the burden of overworked doctors and medical staff.
The NHSO will update its database program on October 1 to assist physicians in expediting managerial procedures.
People with widespread healthcare cards will receive more beds thanks to the NHSO’s collaboration with private hospitals in the interim. Only 100 of the approximately 1, 000 private clinics in the nation already collaborate with the NHSO.
Currently, there are about 500 rooms attainable, and soon, that number is anticipated to reach 1,000 beds, he said. To decrease the number of individual visits to the hospital, the NHSO has also collaborated with 1, 000 pharmacies across the country to provide primary care to patients with moderate illnesses.
He declared,” We’ll try our best to find the best solutions for all events.”
Commitments to find a answer in Attaporn
The Thai Frontline Physician Union’s consultant, Dr. Chutinart Chinudomporn, expressed her displeasure at how slowly the ministry was handling the stressed doctors and medical team.
She claimed that when she worked for a government-run doctor, she put in 120 hours per year. She currently works for a private clinic, where she earns more money and puts in about 40 hours per month.
She continued by saying that she hasn’t observed any immediate action taken by the government to address the issue at its core. She has forewarned the government that producing more physicians will ultimately benefit private hospitals if there are no effective alternatives.
” Every year, on average, 455 physicians resign from state-owned facilities across the country.” We won’t see a light at the end of the hole if there is no proper plan to solve the issue, she claimed.
Dr. Chutinart: The government has act quickly.