Woke up on Friday with Earache. I don’t think it is on account of the kids this time. I used to have the same problem occasionally in the UK where a couple of nights with some eardrops and a visit to the nurse at the local doctor for a rinse had me sorted – gratis. Hoorah for the National Health.
Of course there is no National Health system here in Phuket so you are advised to have good medical insurance to cover these eventualities or worse. That is a no brainer really.
Thais do have some form of National Health system where they pay 30 baht to go to the local hospital. That is not the International Hospital though of course so not quite the same thing. This scheme was one of the good things brought in by Mr Thaksin – I am not a great supporter of his but he did do a lot of things that were good amongst the things that were apparently not so good.
Anyway a trip to Bangkok Phuket Hospital came out costing me 1500 baht for a ten minute auditory service. A bit steep really but at least the pain has gone. I have to say I like Bangkok Phuket Hospital. It looks like a hospital, is spotlessly clean, is very quick (usually) to get attended to and the doctors are very well trained and competent, as far as I can tell, though I have no medical skills whatsoever on which to base that opinion .
Bangkok Phuket Bill
However a doctor’s fee of 1200 baht for 10 minutes is still over the top in my opinion. Compared with an appendix operation I had a few years back which I think cost 56,000 baht or thereabouts, an hour or so in surgery, and several days in hospital, left me pondering the relative costs of the two experiences.
I wonder what the same procedure would cost in a London Hospital – to be comparative it would have to be one of the better ones and not say Barnet General, least not as I remember it. However I am pretty sure if I had to pay for it in a Western Hospital it would be around the same cost or maybe more. Then again the average Jim here earns about 220 Euros a month which is somewhat less than your average European and I bet the doctors are paid substantially less than their European or American counterparts too. I have no axe to grind against the doctors or the nurses by the way – they are wonderful and do a great service to their country and their patients.
I think next time I succumb to a non life threatening malady, though, I might pay a visit to the local clinic rather than to the International Hospital. I am sure it will work out a bit cheaper. I’m off to the chemist for some ear drops to avoid the whole shebang next time.
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We have a new French Clinic here in Vientiane. They do charge about $30 just for seeing the doctor, even if it is just for them to tell you that they can’t do anything.
If only I could charge that kind of money for doing nothing!
Ah yes. I always knew I was in the wrong profession. I have difficulty getting paid for ANYTHING these days.