Bangkok, 7 August 2012 – Siriraj hospital has expressed concerns over the advent of the AEC, because Thai physicians and specialists will want to leave the country due to the higher-income base provided in other ASEAN countries.
Clinical Prof. Udom Kachintor, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Siriraj Hospital, has stated after the opening ceremony of “Siriraj Opens its Door to ASEAN”, that due to the high demand in other countries for Thai doctors and physicians ,Thai doctors will be enticed to leave Thailand for other countries which offer higher pay rate than Thailand does, especially specialists and operating room or ICU personnel who will likely be tempted by the better pay scale.
He added that although the standard of Thai medical staff is on a par with the international level, they are paid only half as much as they stand to earn in foreign countries like Singapore or Malaysia. Thai government should, therefore, review the compensation plan for doctors and specialists. Not only should the government revise the compensation plan, it should also increase research budget given to each university due to the fact that medical development heavily relies on research and study.
Mr. Udom added that he believes Thai students have as good potentials and capabilities as any other foreign students. The only weakness Thai students have is the English language skill.
As a result, Siriraj hospital is now providing courses in the English language for its students. All teaching materials and textbooks in required subjects will be changed into English as well.
