7-19-2004: My daily rant, personalized... TOPIC: Healthcare

Medical issues, doctors, dentists, opticians and hospitals in Hua Hin and Thailand.
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7-19-2004: My daily rant, personalized... TOPIC: Healthcare

Post by ATAdmin »

Today we are going to go with an opinion editorial by yours truly about healthcare in Hua Hin. There are a number of smaller clinics around town and I cannot vouch for any of them; some of them may be great and some might be sub-standard. I will deal only with the three largest healthcare providers in Hua Hin that I have been to on numerous occasions - these are also the ones you most likely would visit as a farang.

At the low end of the market you have Hua Hin Hospital, although in most cases your farang-ness will net you anything but a low-end bill. This is where local Thais go to get their healthcare at the government rate of 30 THB. For this reason, often when you arrive there it will look like a refugee camp, with many people waiting for services. Only people requiring emergency services can circumvent the line. Once when I needed them to stitch a piece of may hand back on, they did it quickly and skillfully. The price seemed reasonable too.

At the middle of the road you have Hua Hin International Polytechnic, which is a satellite clinic of the hospital up in Phetburi. Seems pretty pimped out - they even have a "greeter" (younger Thai person with decent English skills) on duty to help out farang, and all patients as well. They seem to be able to perform many services; tooth extractions (that normal dentists tend not to do in Thailand), optometry, general basic internal medicine, (don't know how much emergency work they see - doesn't seem like much). This seems to be a good place to have a physical done, y'know general diagnostics. Might seem a bit weird, but for this service they will hand you a brochure that list three levels of physicals that they can perform for you at varying prices. Kind of like the "Super," the, "Super-Deluxe" and the, "Super-dooper-extra-special-Deluxe" physicals ranging from 450 THB to 2,000 THB.

I went for the 'Super-Deluxe' Physical and was generally pleased, even impressed. Doctors seemed knowledgeable, staff attentive and thorough in their processes. I liked that when ever they did something that might cause pain like draw blood, they enlisted a young attractive nurse to take my hand squeeze it warmly and distract me from the procedure by engaging me in conversation like, "I think you strong man, no hurt for you," and smile warmly at me. I never felt a thing of course. :)

Then there is of course Sao Paulo (sp?) Hospital. Where upon entering you confidently learn that they have been, "seeking accreditation sine 1996." Here you are met with smiling faces, a platoon of nurses, and some dude who is eager to push you around the hospital in a wheelchair - whether or not you appear to need it. Most people I have spoken too in town seem generally happy with the services, not the prices mind you, but the services.

I was lucky enough recently to require having a nasty lil' tooth that was ailing me pulled. Went to Sao Paulo, because as I mentioned, normal dentists tend not to do this procedure in Thailand. Immediately I was attended to, gave some brief information and before I knew it I was sitting in the dentist's chair. The dentist it turned out was an extremely attractive - I'm talking a stunner now - who would be handling the procedure; aided by an assistant who was equally as comely, but more on the 'cute' side.

This presented a new problem though you see; I hate F#%$'ing dentists and consider having tooth pulled to be one of the harshest dental procedures one can have. The problem you ask? I usually make it through such a procedure by imagining or wishing great physical harm upon the doctor undertaking the task. This was not an option in this case, first she was, well a 'she,' and she was HOT. Second having all the bravado of the male species I was intent not to cry like a little schoolgirl in front of this foxy unit.

Anyway, Novocain applied she chatted with me as it took effect. When she was satisfied I was properly doped up, she proceeded with the yanking and the tugging. The tooth began to rip nicely from bone of my jaw under her deftly trained hands and the tears began to well up in my eyes. I held on as long as I could and finally it let go - the tooth that is. Eyes watery - but not streaming - I looked first to the doctor who moved a bit closer and nicely said, "No problem, you will be fine," with a warm smile. The assistant affectionately rubbed my hand, which was still white-knuckle gripping the hand rest. I 'think' I saved a bit of face by mumbling my thank you to her and saving my muted cursing for the hallway, which at that point probably sounded more like whimpering...

So as you can see for me it has been a wild, sometimes bumpy ride through Hua Hin healthcare - one that I was generally happy with. Now at this point I am sure you have questions. So first 'no,' I do not have a fetish attraction for nurses or women in the medical profession in general, they just seem to be particularly hot in Hua Hin. Secondly I am not a sadomasochist, but if I were that dentist at Sao Paulo would be my wife. I even saw her sometime later and a mildly scared twinge of excitement shot up my spine, landing squarely in my jaw... She smiled again and I could see her thinking, 'oh yeah, he remembers me.'

All seems well. Hua Hin appears to be a place where you can count on quality medical treatment at reasonable prices. So what could possibly go wrong?
------------------------- END PART 1---------------------

Tomorrow: Part 2, When the wheels come off...
ATAdmin (TWJ)
http://www.atimes.com, http://www.thestandard.com.hk
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