Bangkok Hospital Udon Thani

[bumper]

I have seen posting on the site that say go late afternoon and you won't have a long wait.

Chances are you will get the same doctor, there as AEK. They all seem to do double duty, one way or another.

[kjellsnell]

I have seen posting on the site that say go late afternoon and you won't have a long wait.

Chances are you will get the same doctor, there as AEK. They all seem to do double duty, one way or another.

I agree to that

[bumper]

I might check and see if I can the Diptheria booster there.

[hermajesty]

Is the "Military Hospital", the "Army Hospital" and "Fort Prajak Hospital" the same thing??
When I look on the information page "Udon Thani hospitals, clinics and Pharmacies", there is an Army hospital that is not on the road to Nong Khai but a "Dr. Phairoj Hospital" one that is....

Also, "Bangkok Hospital" is " Panyavejinter Hospital", correct? They are just joining the BKK hospital group or finally taking on the name officially....??

I have had mixed experiences at AEK. I went to Wattana first and did not get satisfactory treatment but did get proper help at AEK. I saw a "specialist" at AEK but she could not tell me the class of a drug she was prescribing... I got what I needed but ...

Then, again at AEK, I had to go there to get an injection for treatment from a specialist at Bumrungrad (couldn't get down to BKK) and was unhappy with the professionalism or lack of that, by the doctor at AEK. I got what I needed but ....

Now, I am possibly facing a pretty simple surgery and saw the ONLY doc at AEK who does it and I was very put-off by him in many ways....he doesn't do laparoscopy (go to Bangkok if you want that, he says), he was kind of an odd bird. I don't know how to say it exactly but I just did not want him doing surgery on me.

Is it true that no one does laparoscopy here in Udon?? I want to look into the military hospital but am a little worried b/c I am foreign. I think a skilled doc is most important but some privacy for me is also important. There is a bit of an animal in a zoo feeling for me here and to be vulnerable AND in that position is not something I want to do, really. It might not be possible.

Sorry to the OP about this thread not being so helpful about BKK Hospital here in Udon. By it's former name I have heard some good things about it but have not yet looked into the hospital. I am trying to dig up info on former threads but it takes time and digging and my questions are burning

Thanks all
HM

[semperfiguy]

Is the "Military Hospital", the "Army Hospital" and "Fort Prajak Hospital" the same thing??
When I look on the information page "Udon Thani hospitals, clinics and Pharmacies", there is an Army hospital that is not on the road to Nong Khai but a "Dr. Phairoj Hospital" one that is....

Also, "Bangkok Hospital" is " Panyavejinter Hospital", correct? They are just joining the BKK hospital group or finally taking on the name officially....??

I have had mixed experiences at AEK. I went to Wattana first and did not get satisfactory treatment but did get proper help at AEK. I saw a "specialist" at AEK but she could not tell me the class of a drug she was prescribing... I got what I needed but ...

Then, again at AEK, I had to go there to get an injection for treatment from a specialist at Bumrungrad (couldn't get down to BKK) and was unhappy with the professionalism or lack of that, by the doctor at AEK. I got what I needed but ....

Now, I am possibly facing a pretty simple surgery and saw the ONLY doc at AEK who does it and I was very put-off by him in many ways....he doesn't do laparoscopy (go to Bangkok if you want that, he says), he was kind of an odd bird. I don't know how to say it exactly but I just did not want him doing surgery on me.

Is it true that no one does laparoscopy here in Udon?? I want to look into the military hospital but am a little worried b/c I am foreign. I think a skilled doc is most important but some privacy for me is also important. There is a bit of an animal in a zoo feeling for me here and to be vulnerable AND in that position is not something I want to do, really. It might not be possible.

Sorry to the OP about this thread not being so helpful about BKK Hospital here in Udon. By it's former name I have heard some good things about it but have not yet looked into the hospital. I am trying to dig up info on former threads but it takes time and digging and my questions are burning

Thanks all
HM

Hermajesty, I have only used Panyavejinter Hosp before it was taken over by BKK Hosp group. They did a wonderful job with my annual check-up. A gallstone was discovered and I had a consultation with two docs, one of which does laparoscopic surgery. I opted not to have surgery but the two docs seemed to really know their stuff. The prices were very reasonable and considerably lower than AEK; however, I expect that has changed with the entry of the new hospital group. If you need the laparoscopic surgeon's name and number, please PM me for his private clinic info.

[parrot]

""Dr. Phairoj Hospital""

It's the white hospital on the corner of the ring road and the Nongkai Hwy intersection (near old Lotus). It's very old and, having been in there once for a driver's licence dr letter, I'd not go there for anything requiring hospital care.

"Is the "Military Hospital", the "Army Hospital" and "Fort Prajak Hospital" the same thing??" Yes.

[Joel]

My son stayed in Bangkok hospital udon for 2 days with a fever and bad lungs. Cost 38,000 Baht. My wife argued with them about why it was so expensive, twice the normal price. They just said it was medicine and wouldn't let my boy go home unless we paid the bill.
I was at work in Singapore so emailed the hospital with no replay so then emailed Bangkok hospital in Bangkok. They got back to me straight away saying they will get the udon branch to replay with the reason. I looked at the bill and could see where the mistake was but it took over a week before Udon bangkok hospital finaly agreed and returned 25,000 baht back to my wife.
The medical treatment was good, just the billing and lack of responce and help with the explanations of the charges that got me angry. They should have gone through the bill with my wife and not just told her to pay it as they would have seen the problem there selves if they had any idea at all.

AEK just over charges and we end up waiting for hours for any service there. I have had a couple of repairs done their and there surgens are very good thou, just have to have good insurance to cover the costs.

[LoveDaBlues]

I would never have any type of invasive surgery performed in Udon. Just go to Bangkok; get it done there at one of the "5 star" hospitals.

Eye surgery - Rutin Eye Hospital in Bangkok. I've had cataract surgery there; went from 20/50 to 20/20. Had a very respected Dr. here in Udon tell me if you can afford it don't trust your eyesight to anyone
but Rutin.

[joepai]

I would never have any type of invasive surgery performed in Udon. Just go to Bangkok; get it done there at one of the "5 star" hospitals.

Eye surgery - Rutin Eye Hospital in Bangkok. I've had cataract surgery there; went from 20/50 to 20/20. Had a very respected Dr. here in Udon tell me if you can afford it don't trust your eyesight to anyone
but Rutin.

Depends on what one needs - there are very good hospitals down in KK

[bumper]

The military hospital i is on the same road a Ratchapat university. The static jet displays at the entrance. My headache with AEK doesn't matter if you have insurance or not, you have to make a cash deposit. They will kept the money and in my experience won't even assist with billing your insurance. one experience but, enough for me to look else where.

The private doctor I use has told me he Military hospital does have private rooms. I've m never used them so I have no personal experience. A person I know did have surgery there and he is still walking around, that's pretty good sign.

Bangkok Hospital is going through a transistion right now. To my knowledge they are not doing surgery there and will refer you to another hospital. Someone posted they will be up and running full steam in December.

Wyatana was on that list.

A friend is there right now the result of a very serious motorcycle accident. from what I could see a serious head wound, broken shoulder. When I went to the hospital they had six people working on him, to include two doctors. I don't know at the moment id he will be transferred rr not, When i know I will update this.

I don't know where the paramedics at the scene came from but they did an excellent job

[bumper]

They are doing surgery on my friend at Bangkok Hospital

[pienmash]

I wouldnt allow this place to do an autopsy on me never mind an op when im copus mentus !!!

[hermajesty]

Interesting on that, Bumper.

I had a consult at BKK Hospital today and they do laparoscopic there and they quoted me prices, never mentioning they are not currently doing surgery. Obviously they are. I was impressed with the service there, not impressed with the wait/organization of appointments. One nurse spoke English quite well and others tried. I had 2 follow up phone calls from staff, as well, to check on my experience and if I had my questions answered etc...

Having been to hospitals in the Philippines and India, I am very grateful for this level of service here. It could be so much worse.

HM

[bumper]

Language make Contact with John, he is the international Rep and speaks great English.

I experienced the same thing with the staff. But, I also had the same experience at AEK. Their international reps speak very good English.

Dr's in both hospital I met spoke English.

[hermajesty]

I did consultations at AEK, (not an option; did not like doc) Bkk and Military.

Mil is literally 1/4 the price of Bkk for exact same procedure.

Military hospital is a little uncomfortable for seeing doc but patient care facility is amazingly nice! I don't think there is nicer. I mean, I don't think they can really make it nicer. I think doc is sufficient.

Am I crazy to consider price? I think the care will be about equal....?? I think maybe the skill of the doc at BKK is a bit better, maybe, but it's a very common, basic surgery. Nothing fancy or special. And, I am not sure it is. They are similar in age.

HM

[hermajesty]

I just returned from a pre-op visit to the Fort Prajak, aka Military, hospital. I was still on the fence this morning but had the appointment so I went and committed to it. I am really impressed. The staff has been very good, the hospital is clean if a bit tattered. At the blood lab a woman came out to talk to me about the blood supply in Thailand and how they test it etc... She spoke excellent English (the only one who spoke English for me today but that's ok).

I am now happy that I did decide this way. So far at least! I was done in just over an hour. Nothing took too long. The cafeteria looked clean and it seemed one might be able to get some good food there. I got an excellent iced coffee! The hospital has a peaceful feel to it and is orderly and efficient. Everyone was so nice.

I guess the next post will be post op! (oy).

HM

[parrot]

Thanks for the input. We've known several Thais who have had operations at the military hospital.....private rooms are clean and quiet. Staff seems to be as attentive as anywhere else. 7-11 and a variety of small shops directly across the street. Large food court just to the right of the parking lot along the main road.
Hope all goes well with the operation. Look forward to your post-op report.

[bumper]

Well we now have two recent experiences with the New hospital now. My friend that was hit by a truck on his bike. Was in really bad shape, thought for sure we would be going to a funeral on that one. He has numerous injuries to include a skull fracture and broken shoulder. He was transported to Bangkok Hospital, the ambulance crew was excellent. Within hours he was in surgery with a team of doctors. One week later he went home, in heck of a lot of pain. But, alive.

His injuries were so significant that his medical insurance would not cover it all. The did the surgery and waited on the cash from the family. No deposit was required before treatment.

My wife will be released sometime this evening, she has a chronic sinus problem. The ENT doctors are moonlighting at the moment from Udon Hospital. If she has to have a surgery it won't be done at Bangkok Hospital as they don''t have the equipment there at the moment. That I'll no more about this evening.

She has AIA insurance, no deposit has been requested of her at all. She has had first class treatment.

Some where along the line someone suggested that you really check the exclusions on your Medical Insurance. I had BUPA Platinum, I did check it found out I wasn't covered for a pace maker, difibulator, or Chemo Therapy. Well old folke if not killed in an accident would care about that sort of thing.

Someone else suggested contacting Peter at:

AA INSURANCE BROKERS CO., LTD.

565 / 62 Moo 10 (Next to Big C South Pattaya)

Nong Prue,

Banglamung,

Chonburi 20260

Tel: 038 415 795-6

Fax: 038 374 251.

I didn't think much of it a I'm 65 and thought my options were over they were not. Through Peter I Found April Expat. No such exclusions cost about $1,000 more a year, But a million dollars in coverage annualy.

I then contacted Bangkok Hospital in Bangkok to confirm they would accept the company. They are on their approved list. If you have a 24 hour stay, you submit the bills to the Insurance Company for reembursment

. If your stay over 24 hours, they pay directly to the hospital. I don't carry insurance for outpatient only inpatient. The small stuff I don't worry about.

So all in all this has turned out very well for me. To me this is the real value of the forum, our community helping each other.

If surgery is required I will look in the Military Hospital.

So I would rate the care at Bangkok Hospital in Udon as good as any I have seen here. I be happy to see them finished renovations and ready to do business a normal.

I have nothing against Udon Hospital, it's just a night mare getting in and out of there.

[udonmum]

We have only ever been to Aek Udon for treatment (all minor health problems) - treated once for a bad stomach myself and apart from that things for my 4 year old son - about 4-5 vaccinations, chest infections etc. I have always thought it was fine.

However my most recent experiences of a vaccination for my son have changed my view slightly. We took him in for a Japanese Encephalitis vaccination a while ago. But soon after he got a small red bump which slowly grew bigger. We probably should have checked it out before (I did have a quick look online and it did say it was a symptom of this vaccination (Japanese Encephalitis) so we left it longer than we would have done otherwise (with hindsight maybe it was bad idea to check online but this has helped with lots of other minor problems in the past and of course I used a reliable website)

Anyway we took him back to Aek Udon paediatrics yesterday and straight away they saw that something was wrong and said that it was an abscess. They took him down to the A&E (I think - it said Emergency deparment) and a doctor lanced the abscess. I asked him what the cause was - he said it was almost certain that the skin was not cleaned properly and went on to demonstrate how many nurses touch the cotton wool swab all over or squeeze it out before wiping the skin. He said that ideally they should use tongs or if they used their hands, they should wash them immediately before and not touch the surface of the swab that would touch the skin. I don;t think he knew the vaccination had been done at Aek Udon as he was being surprisingly open and honest (eg saying 'I always tell nurses not to touch the swab but they still do as they think it's ok and there aren't usually any problems' - he said they only get 4-5 cases a year of abscess after injection but it should be 0 with correct hygiene!!). And then he asked where we had got the vaccination so I told him it was here!! I asked him if he could confirm the reason for the abscess and he said he'd test a swab and would know in about 5 days what the cause was, though he again said he was 99% sure it was due to uncleanliness.

Despite his admission that it was most likely the hospital's fault, they went on to present us with a bill for 3000 baht, this included medicine and some supplies for changing the dressing, plus we will have some additional charges as we need to go back to the hospital to change the dressing (at least for the first few days so they can keep an eye on it) plus the doctor said we need to come back for a follow up appointment in a week and she recommended one extra check in between, so easily a few more thousand - probably 5-6000baht total. To be fair they did (after my husband had argued with them for about 15 minutes - he is Thai by the way but i think he has higher expectations that many Thais as he was in the UK for 7 years hence the big scene!!) agree to fill in a refund form but the receptionist on the paediatrics ward seemed very reluctant to do this. And I can undertsand they need to get it authorised (and see results) and can;t just give free treatment away that easily but I was pretty shocked at how reluctant they were especially when we told her that the doctor had said it was most likely caused by the hospital. We are on a Thai income (not expat income) so it's still a fairly big amount for something that wasn't our fault. And there was me thinking they should refund the original 1000 baht or so for the vaccination due to their incompetence!!!

Anyway we will wait and see what happens but it has totally changed my view of Aek Udon and to be honest, any hospital here. If the doctor knows that this can cause infection and tells nurses not to do it but they still go ahead that doesn't give me much faith in any hospital. The paediatrics doctor told me that the nurses don;t use tongs but should wash their hands before cleaning the skin for vaccinations - I told her that this is not enough as the nurse will most likely touch something else before she touches the cotton wool swab but she seemed to think that this was sufficient (whereas the A&E doctor said they should use tongs) Presumably it is to save money! Fair enough to say 'this is Thailand' like my mother in law did but then Aek udon shouldn't call itself an International Hospital if it doesn't intend to maintain any international standards. Sorry if I sound rude or patronising about Thai healthcare (and I don't expect everything to run the same way as it does in the UK) but I have always been told about its excellent quality and up to now had believed it - but if they are not bothered about details like this then i worry about how seriously they take other aspects of medical care and hygiene. Maybe people are just referring to the bigger areas such as bangkok and other tourist areas?? It certainly makes me appreciate the NHS - at least if they make a mistake and infect you they do it for free (and also fix it for free)

Sorry for the rant but it just happened yesterday so it is very fresh in my mind!!

[jimboLV]

Hello mum, welcome to the forum. When I lived in Udon we always used AEK. My daughter was born there and we were very satisfied with the quality of care. Also I was treated for a broken collar bone and had to go back for several days to get the wound cleaned and the dressing changed. The nurses always used tongs and washed her hands. This was about a year ago, so maybe things have changed.

Are you aware that children under the age of five are treated free in the government hospitals? We were taking my two year old daughter to a local clinic and really liked the doctor. One time she developed a fever and was not feeling well, and the clinic was only opened at 6 PM. So we went to the local hospital and there was her regular pediatrician. She checked her over and prescribed some medication. When we left I went to the cashier to pay the bill and she said "no charge for children under five". My wife confirmed this. We are in a different province, so this may not apply to Udon province, but would be worth checking it out.