BANGKOK, 1 June 2011– The Ministry of Public Health has tightened security in all hospitals under its supervision in the wake of the recent incident at Ratchawithi Hospital in the heart of Bangkok where a three-month-old baby was stolen.
Permanent Secretary for Public Health Medical Doctor Paijit Warachit admitted that this kind of incident often takes place in hospitals as there are so many people getting in and out of the places daily, and it is therefore very difficult to monitor.
Medical Doctor Paijit however noted that he has instructed hospitals across the country to tighten security measures by increasing security guards, installing more CCTVs in risky spots such as fire exits while hospital staff members must have their ID cards attached all the time.
Meanwhile, relatives of patients or any people coming to hospitals for other businesses such as foundation personnel and medicine sales representatives must exchange their ID cards for visitor cards prior to entering hospital premises.
The permanent secretary stated that the measures would help prevent con artists from disguising themselves as hospital officials or charity members. He admitted that the tightened security might cause inconvenience to people coming to hospitals but this is for the sake of their own safety.
A three-month-old baby was stolen from a 17-year-old mother in Ratchawithi Hospital on Monday; however, the thief on Tuesday decided to return the baby back to the unfortunate mother, saying that she took the baby since she could not have one by herself.
