Here Ms Mya blames the sex workers. You would think that attitude would be gone by now or that she would know better than to say it to a journalist.
[him] moderator
+++++++++++++++++++
Hospitals along Burmese border appeal for more funding
February 16, Bangkok Post
It was almost noon when Lae Lae Oo took his medication, donned a face mask
and prepared to leave the in-patient unit after undergoing several weeks
of tuberculosis treatment at Sangkhla Buri District Hospital.
His wife and two children were waiting to take him home to Burma.
The 34-year-old is an ethnic Mon who once worked as a clerk for the
Burmese government. He had to quit after being diagnosed with
tuberculosis. He went to the hospital in Sangkhla Buri for treatment.
The Thai hospital treated Lae Lae Oo for six months before his discharge
last week.
Tribal people often seek treatment at state hospitals along the
Thai-Burmese border, from Mae Hong Son in the North to Ranong in the
South.
These hospitals treat a large number of stateless people living in
Thailand, including ethnic minorities, long-term migrants and those born
on Thai soil but still waiting for verification of their citizenship.
Records show there are about 500,000 stateless people living in Thailand.
In the western-most district of Sangkhla Buri, 21,634 of the region's
total population of 58,466 do not have health care coverage.
Sangkhla Buri Hospital director Kritsada Wuttayakorn said the Thai
hospitals treat ethnic minorities for free due to humanitarian
considerations.
Health care costs for tribal peoples jumped from 3.77 million baht in 2008
to 8.24 million baht last year.
Although the expenditure is modest, Dr Kritsada said it had affected the
financial situation of the small-scale district hospital, which is already
struggling with debt.
"It's quite tough and challenging for us to get by with the financial
situation that we're facing," he added. "I still believe the government
won't let state hospitals go bankrupt because helping these patients is
what we have to do."
According to Dr Kritsada, the hospital was 10 million baht in debt as of
Feb 8. Recent drugs and equipment purchases were responsible for the cost
overruns, he said.
A total budget of 16 million baht was allocated to the hospital under the
universal healthcare scheme. However, more than 14 million baht was spent
on administrative costs and the salaries of doctors, nurses and other
healthcare staff. Only 2 million baht was left for treatment, which is
sufficient for only about a month.
The hospital director said he had to divert 4 million baht in building
funds to cover hospital treatment costs as a short-term solution.
The financial situation at nearby Thong Pha Phum District Hospital is
similar. The 90-bed hospital received 37.59 million baht in funds but had
up to 64.53 million baht in expenditure last year, hospital director
Nuanchan Vejsuwanmanee said.
Doctors at border hospitals have called for health care funding for the
stateless and ethnic minorities. The patients suffer from diseases such as
diarrhoea, malaria, tuberculosis, measles and HIV/Aids.
Ms Mya, a Burmese migrant and a hospital volunteer, worries that the
spread of HIV/Aids, caused by the lack of condom use among sex workers,
was "a time bomb" could cause even more financial strife for health care
providers along the border.
Prateep Dhanakijcharoen, National Health Security Office (NHSO) deputy
secretary, said the agency has joined forces with the Stateless Watch for
Research and Development Institute of Thailand and the Health Insurance
System Research Office to push for an extension of state-funded care for
ethnic minorities.
The NHSO had previously prepared a proposal calling for 1.3 billion baht
to expand access to medical treatment for ethnic minorities and relieve
the burden on border-area hospitals.
But the plan was rejected before it could be introduced to the cabinet,
mainly because of national security concerns, he said.
Dr Prateep said the NHSO will ask that its proposal to provide health care
for stateless people be included in the 2011 budget.
"The issue of health care for stateless people needs serious attention
from the government," he said. "The health security of these people also
means our national security."
