Aunjai Clinic planned to aid newly infected Covid-19 patients
Aunjai is a Thai word that means “peace of mind” and also the name of a new clinic at the centre of Phuket Governor Narong Woonciew and his team’s plan to deal with Covid-19 and the severe hospital bed shortage the island is experiencing, with less than 10% of beds currently available for infected patients.
The goal of the new Aunjai Clinic is to act as the first point of contact and comfort for people afflicted with Covid-19. The clinic intends to offer a convenient place for patients to turn to for advice, as well as building confidence and reducing stress for those infected.
The new facility is particularly aimed at people who test positive with a home antigen test kit who may be panicked or distraught or just not know what steps to take next. Now they can go to Aunjai Clinic and receive medication, x-rays, examinations, advice, and answers to their questions.
Patients will be evaluated for the severity of their infection and be sent either for home isolation, a community isolation centre, or to a field hospital, or a regular medical facility. Though nothing of the sort was stated officially, the Aunjai Clinic might be attempting to provide a softer onboarding method that will convince people who took home tests that came back positive to seek help as some suspect that many people are not revealing their positive test for fear of being thrown into a field hospital.
The launch hit some immediate hiccups when on Tuesday officials announced that a building near Vachira Phuket Hospital would be the site of this new clinic and then immediately turned around the next day to declare that the Phuket Provincial Hall complex will actually be the site of the Aunjai Clinic, despite the complex not yet being finished.
The Aunjai Clinic can be reached 24 hours a day for more information with 20 phone lines open to the public. People can call 076-254188, 076-254207, or any number in between sequentially (076-254189, 076-254190, 076-254191, etc.).
SOURCE: The Phuket News
