BANGKOK, 24 June 2015 – Deputy Minister of Public Health Somsak Chunharas on Wednesday visited the private hospital, “Samitivej” located in the Sukhumvit area, Bangkok to inspect its system of surveillance against a MERS outbreak and found that it has followed the Ministry’s guidelines closely.
Samitivej Hospital has restricted its entrance to one gate where a thermo scan camera is installed to ensure all visitors pass through the screening system once they enter the hospital. It is also ready to coordinate with the Ministry of Public Health’s Hotline 1669 in transferring patients suspected of suffering from the deadly virus.
The Ministry of Public Health requires that all private hospitals strictly implement three measures against MERS. One of the measures is for the hospitals to clearly post a notice on patients suspected of having MERS, in order to warn others including the medical staff in both private and state hospitals.
All hospitals are required to set up a One Stop Service to specifically track the disease screening of patients suspected of having contracted the virus. The service must be run separately from normal wards.
The third measure is for hospitals which are to admit patients coming from countries with MERS outbreaks, to prepare an exhaustive screening procedure. The Public Health Ministry however suggests that if possible, the hospitals should avoid admitting such a case at this stage.
