English children of sick father who lives in Pattaya need help. They've been contacted by a Thai (doesn't speak much English) who is in contact with their father, and who says he needs to be admitted into hospital quickly.

The last time this happened the Bangkok Pattaya Hospital hit them with a £6,000 bill, which the family eventually managed to get paid from his Thai bank account. This time the hospital is saying they want money up front.

Trouble is they can't get any information from the father, and don't know how much money he has in his accounts.

They want to know -

- If in Pattaya there is another good hospital, not so expensive
- whether someone (English) on the spot could act as middleman to help sort this out

There is a hospital in a town located north of Pattaya called Phayathai hospital in Sriracha with a decent reputation for quality and friendlier pricing than the Pattaya expat hospitals. I have PMed you with an English speaking contact there.

http://www.phyathai-sriracha.com/Eng/index.php

Great thanks a lot, jing jing, Jingthing

Good on you Jing that is the most helpful post ive ever read here.

good one Jing, i bet i am not the only one who has just bookmarked that link

The international manager at Phyathai in Sriracha is Gavin Waddell. He is from Scotland, and is a member of the British foreign legion.
Barry

Another alternative and a bit closer is the Queen Sirikit Hospital in Satahip, I have heard many compliments about this inexpensive hospital and many of the specialist doctors actually work both in Bangkok Pattaya Hospital and Queen Sirikit as apparently they are required by Thai law to contribute a number of hours of their time to public health care.

There is also of course the public hospital in Naklua, The Banglamung Hospital so the family/expat does have a choice the link for Queen Sirikit Hospital is http://www.pattayacityexpatsclub.com/News-...le-sid-937.html

Many thanks again, I've passed the info on to the family concerned.

They were also looking for a lawyer to sort out power of attorney. They'd found http://www.pattaya-law.com/index.html through a web search. I'm assuming power of attorney should be pretty straightforward, but as I'm not in Pattaya I know nothing about the lawyers there, English-speakers (assume there's a lot of them), reliable, not a rip-off, etc.

My best wishes for the patient for a speedy and complete recovery.

You know something gang, just about the time I feel like I have had it with the petty cr-p that goes on here so often, something like this happens.

Good work, this is where we shine.

kdf

Yep - I was pleasantly surprised - having been a bit apprehensive of the kind of reactions this post might have received! TV threads often produce someone with a snide comment or worse (cue entrance )

I know the family concerned are extremely grateful, they were completely lost, had no idea what to do and of course time is of the essence. Stuck on the other side of the world such situations are a complete nightmare. Apparently the father is too ill to communicate with them.

Many thanks again

This post has been edited by wedders: 2009-06-11 13:44:07

Yes, that was the name that I PMed the OP with a phone number. I didn't think it was allowed to post his phone number here.

"Another alternative and a bit closer is the Queen Sirikit Hospital in Satahip, I have heard many compliments about this inexpensive hospital"

Obviously, I'm quite a bit late for this thread, but hopefully a first-hand comment will give others some necessary insight on the Queen Sirikit Hospital that might save a lot of time and trouble

The hospital is run by the Thai Navy and it's PURE THAI -- Don't even think of going there without a Thai translator! -- ( unless you speak fluent Thai )

NO English spoken and NO directional guidance signs in English.

I had both a Thai driver and translator with me and it was still a very rough ordeal.

When I finally located a Doctor who knew something about my query, I discovered that the technology they used for my particular problem was out-dated by at least 10 years and may not have worked at all for the advanced condition that I had.

Yes, very inexpensive, but Cheap Charlie sometimes gets only what he pays for and possibly MUCH less . . .

.

Phyathai is as a big a rip-off joint as Bangkok Pattaya Hospital... ok, perhaps not as a big... but definitely nearly as big.

If the family is looking to save money, look elsewhere. Their English contact is rather a twat, too.



This post has been edited by sriracha john: 2009-06-19 03:27:23

There you go, just to keep this new found TV community spirit of helpfullness and balance in total perspective, you can always count on our very own resident srj.

Since it's a Brit that appears to have become severely incapacitated, it may be worthwhile seeking contact with our local Hon Consul Barry Kenyon? I am not sure of the extents of his remit much beyond retirement visa paperwork shuffler but this way the British Embassy is at least aware of the chaps situation and the family has some much needed reassurance. I know that the consular office in Bangkok has a printed list of local lawyers available, with the usual disclaimer on NOT recommending any particular one.

The British Embassy list of "approved" lawyers .........



http://ukinthailand.fco.gov.uk/en/help-for...eed-eng-lawyer/

Both my kids were born at Phayathai in Sriracha.

I stayed there when they were born and the staff even brought me beer to the room.

BTW Sriracha is not a town 'north of Pattaya' it is a town in it's own right.

You're welcome. Can't think of anything more helpful than by balancing people's posts with other people's perspectives, especially those that might have a greater deal of exposure to the specific subject matter than most.

Indeed, Tuky, Phayathai does have an OB department of some reknown. I've had seen how that runs on several occasions myself and it seems they do a good job.

Unfortunately, many other departments don't... and I presumed the OP's problem wasn't OB-related.

*edit. I'd just add that with 162,000 people... I call Sriracha a city.


This post has been edited by sriracha john: 2009-06-19 09:11:37

Their resident OBGYN Dr Suchinda has quite a good reputation in the IVF, gender selection type fields. I am pretty sure she would not be allowed to practise as she does in the west, which is quite a shame, but in Thailand she is one of the best as far as I am aware.


*edit. I'd just add that with 162,000 people... I call Sriracha a city.

*edit. You are quite correct.

This post has been edited by tuky: 2009-06-19 09:16:02

i might not know the Phyyathai hospital, but i know that the Queen Sirigit have some very good doctors. in is an hospital of the royal army.
so if you go there don't be shocked that you see many people dresed in uniforms.

Actually if you see people in uniforms they are Navy, Thai Navy as the hospital is run and staffed by Thai Navy personnel not Army.

I guess that's why they refer to the place as the "Navy" hospital in Sattahip.

Now, Now Barry. French Foreign Legion;Yes. American Legion;Yes, British Foreign Legion;NO. Try the Royal British Legion who have a branch in Thailand to help former and serving members of UK Forces who may have a problem whilst in Thailand. Gavin is a member but that in no way suggests we recommend him or Phyathai Hospital.
Bert