Ruampaet hospital to close

PHUKET CITY: After being open for 26 years, Phuket’s first private hospital, Phuket Ruampaet Medical Center on Phuket Rd, will close on November 30.

Dr Mitr Theva-Aksorn, the hospital’s Director, told the Gazette, “We don’t have the money to continue the lease on the building, so we have to stop operating.”

The hospital opened on November 22, 1979, with 36 inpatient beds. It now has 10.

Dr Mitr said that the closure is the result of high competition between the private hospitals in Phuket and the effect of the government’s 30-baht medical treatment scheme.

“We don’t want to continue to rent the building, and we cannot move to a new building because the requirements under the Hospital Operation Act 1997 are too strict, and it is very expensive to build a new hospital,” Dr Mitr said.

He explained that it has been difficult to attract investors to bail the hospital out of its financial crisis because of the hospital’s core objective – to provide better hospital care than government hospitals but not at over-inflated prices.

“We have our own vision that we don’t want to make big profits; we want our patients to recover and be satisfied with our service,” he said.

Dr Mitr added that he has been impressed by the response of the other medical facilities on the island in finding new jobs for the three doctors and 36 other staff whose positions will become redundant.

“I’m so impressed with the assistance from many hospitals in Phuket. They understand us and are willing to help any way they can,” he said.