Bangkok Hospital Pattaya : Not a bamboo hut !

The idea for this video was to show the hospital in a neutral, authentic perspective of a touristic outsider.
You will see people walking towards and away from the camera, strange and “unwanted” things are not getting cut out. Of the 1 hour walk I originally was planning to cut a 30min video but I liked all so much that I actually only cut out 10min of some longer walks. This just shows how authentic the whole video is.
My motivation for this is : I simply love Thailand, if I can help a little a good place like this one, it makes me happy. I am not doing this for everyone, only if I really consider something to be worthy to be portayed.

The staff I encountered at the Bangkok Hospital Pattaya is extremely friendly and helpful. I had the opportunity to have Dr. Ian Corness as a guide. He is a very knowledgeable person, an excellent communicator and he got a great sense of humor. Thanks to him, this whole walk doesn’t appear sterile and boring.

Video 1 explains general things about the hospital : They have 400 beds, are accredited by the Joint Commission International, their international service speaks 22 languages. They are even a little more international orientated than Bumrungrad in Bangkok making 60% of their revenues with foreign patients.
Dr. Corness shows a standard room which costs something around THB 5000 / day. Rates in Pattaya and cost of living in general are cheaper in Pattaya than in Bangkok. Dr. Corness liked to stress that Bangkok is considered as a transit for most people (not me !) whereas Pattaya is a destination. Traffic in Bangkok moreover can be so bad that the transport from Bangkok Suvarnabhumi airport to Sukhumvit can take sometimes almost same time (usually around 40 min) like driving down all the way to Pattaya (usually around 2 hours).
Dr. Corness explained in a great way why people should not be worried about the standard of the hospital although the city being best known as the world’s largest sex destination.
Nowhere in the world except in Thailand you will find the hospitals being constructed like a hotel. The main reason for the medical tourist coming is still the very lower price which can be around 25% of what you would pay in the USA or Germany.

In video 2 we see the dental cosmetic & implant center where 28 dentists work. We learn about the efficiancy of the health promotion center : for example you get your blood test results only 45 minutes later after the blood was taken. Some befriended MDs in Germany might get mad when they read it here. Things in Thailand just work easier, heavy beaurocracy like in Europe helps creating extra jobs but it won’t get more efficient…

The hospital employs 12 cardiologists who all have extensive experience and are fully accredited specialists. I have a quite high trust that hospitals like Bangkok hospital and Bumrungrad employ physicians that really work on a very high level. Local universities like Chulalongkorn or Chiang Mai university for example have reached a standard that appears really good to me.
Because they are a private hospital they are able to pay higher salaries to their physicians than a public hospital could pay. This is clearly an advantage to get and maintain some of the best doctors of Thailand.

Dr. Corness already works 12 years for the hospital. He explained in a funny way that he came to Thailand 14 years ago like many other foreigners who had been through a lot of shit in their home country. I bet he really could write a best-selling book about life in Thailand from the expats point-of-view. He is a great character. He got re-married 10 years ago with a Thai and got a son and a daughter with her.

In video 3 we see at first the Arabic reception area and Intensive Care. They are the only hospital in Pattaya that has an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scanner.
Dr. Somchai who studied medicine in Munich, Germany, introduces his supersight surgery which isn’t LASIK. He brought a lot of technology and knowledge from Germany to Thailand. He works together with Carl-Zeiss from Jena for the lenses he uses. Dr. Somchai works since 15 years for the hospital, he developed his technology in 2002 and had 205.000 operations being done with it. Dr. Corness refered to him as one of the leading lights of the hospital. He was also responsible for getting the Icelab from the German company Zimmer to the hospital.
In total the hospital employs 100 full-time physicians and 100 part-time.

In video 4 you see the brand-new, cutting-edge Icelab, a cryo therapy spa, which is the only one across whole Asia. You can heal all kinds of conditions with it at minus 110 degrees, especially pro sports men like to use it for healing faster. I should inform Mr. Rainer Calmund about it to send his football injured pro-players down there for a little fun rehabilitation time. It costs only around THB 1000 per session, around 10 you should do depending on what you use it for. You walk through 2 chambers with different temperatures and try to last in the 3rd chamber around 3 minutes. Next time I come to Pattaya I want to try it. You get a big boost of endorphines and oxygen from it because of the density of the air. After all the heavy partying and drinking in Pattaya that I am used to : this is just what I need. In case they don’t like my video portray, they won me at least for the Icelab already. LOL.

Later you see the cantine and the dermatology & cosmetic surgery center. They employ 5 cosmetic surgeons. The most popular surgery there for forgeigners is breast augmentation (enlargement) and for locals a nose operation from flat to more western looking. A big part of the medical tourism happens within beauty surgery. Pattaya as a nice, touristic beach destination is clearly scoring in convincing patients to stay for a longer time if the operation demands it.

Bangkok Hospital Pattaya is a fully digital hospital. All your data (for example blood tests, diagnosis, X-rays, prescriptions, etc…) is electronically stored and you get identified with a barcode you carry along. Moreover they share data with hospitals abroad, so let’s say you want your doctor in the USA to have all the info on what you did in Pattaya : no problem, they are very cooperative. I am very impressed of it.

In video 5 you see the MRI scanner. The hospital got their own busses and can arrange picking up international patients from Suvarnabhumi airport. The International Service Department can also take care of visa and other issues.
The hospital got 11 ambulances, the majority of ambulances run in Pattaya are public, run by various foundations. Their own ambulances go out with a doctor on board and treatment could already start there.
The Emergency Medical Service got 16 beds. Pattaya, let me assure you, is so much safer than any place in the USA I know of.
We make some jokes about the large amount of public holidays in Thailand : Dr. Corness wants to produce a small pocket calendar for Thais which lists the days when Thais are actually supposed to work. LOL.
The International Service Department will also help you with your insurance, trying to figure out if your insurance abroad will cover fully or partially costs of your stay at this hospital. What I learned about insurances is : they really don’t give a shit about people, of course we all work in the monetary system. The insurance looks at the numbers like everyone does : as long as they don’t have to pay more, it is very likely that they agree to a stay/treatment at the hospital. That’s why price matters so much. Plastic/beauty surgery however is nowhere covered anyway.

I want to say many thanks again to the entire Bangkok Hospital Pattaya staff, especially to Dr. Ian Corness taking the time and guiding me around that spontaneously. I am always shocked and impressed how helpful people in general are towards me in Thailand, like giving me permission for such video tours. Taking into account my aggressive logo and sometimes controversial website content : When they give me their trust, I am all the more willing to help.