Project for Improving the Quality of Medicine and Public Health

Phon Hospital, Khon Kaen Province

    The public health system is an indispensable component of society. Promoting public health and admonishing social progress are both substantial reasons why individuals should be disease-free and in good health. It is thus essential for human development, which contributes to the nation’s sustainable development, to establish a public health system that satisfies standards and encompasses all residential areas.

    Suthirat Yoovidhya Foundation and Phon Hospital, Khon Kaen Province, signed a cooperation agreement (Memorandum of Understanding: MOU) on December 3, 2020 to carry out the project “Improving the Potential of Phon Hospital as a Host Hospital (Middle-Level Hospital: M2) of Khon Kaen South Zone” with the goal of constructing a 3-story outpatient building providing services in 4 dimensions: health promotion, disease control and prevention, treatment and rehabilitation, serving the people who located in the areas of Phon District, Nong Song Hong District, Waeng Noi District, and Waeng Yai District, which results in people receiving convenience and speed in treatment, receiving services by specialized doctors, and reducing the burden of expenses on traveling long distances for treatment at Khon Kaen Hospital.

    The planning process for architecture, structure, and systems that align with our objectives and adhere to public health service standards commenced in 2020. Construction is anticipated to commence in 2021 and conclude in 2023.

Q: What are the reasons why the director wants Phon Hospital to become a host hospital, and what are the benefits?

A: First, the province’s policy is to develop the capacity of medium-sized hospitals to provide standard treatment while also providing the public with access to quality services. Consequently, developing a medium-sized hospital with potential entails providing comprehensive services to people in the community, as seen at Kranuan Hospital, Ban Phai, Chum Phae, and Phon.
Benefits

1) People who live far from hospitals in the city have timely access to services.
2) Medium-sized hospitals maximize their potential and provide three times more services in the area.
3) Reduce the time people spend traveling to hospitals in remote areas.

Q: What guidelines or methods does Phon Hospital use to transition a community hospital into a host hospital?

A: Receiving policies from the provinces to the hospital, preparation has been made by setting strategic goals for hospital development that are in line with the development to become a host hospital, namely
1) Developing human resource potential entails sending medical personnel to study in specific fields of expertise such as surgery, obstetrics, pediatrics, surgery (orthopedics), and internal medicine, with two people assigned to each branch. The study period and ability to return to work in the hospital is from 2020 to 2023. There will be personnel available to work in the hospital on time.
2) Phon Hospital’s development of medical facilities and equipment has improved the outpatient building by bringing together government agencies, the private sector, and the public to create a building that is ready to accommodate service users. The outpatient building receives funding from a variety of sources, including the Suthirat Yoovidhya Foundation. I’d also like to thank you for this opportunity, which will allow us to have complete equipment in line with the number of specialized doctors graduating to work in the hospital in 2023.

Q: How can people encourage Phon Hospital to become a host hospital?

A: Phon Hospital has formed a Phon Hospital Development Committee, which includes representatives from the government, civil society, the public sector, merchants, and barons. The committee’s purpose is to plan development and establish guidelines for collaboration between the hospital and the community. The hospital allows the public to express their views on the hospital’s operations and provides a platform for clear understanding and clarification so that the community and people all understand the same thing: the goal is “to truly be a community hospital, by the community, for the people.”

Q: How does Phon Hospital establish or integrate collaboration with the public?

A: Give priority to integrated work with agencies from all sectors because it is believed that cooperation partners, such as agency-level partners, community-level partners, civil society, and the general public, are critical to hospital development. They must play a role in recognizing our efforts. “Together Manage the Hospital” means making the community or people feel like owners rather than just recipients of our services.

Q: What would you like to tell the Suthirat Yoovidhya Foundation?

A: Thank you to the Suthirat Yoovidhya Foundation’s management team, directors, and stakeholders, as well as everyone else who has given their support and recognized the importance of developing our small hospital so that it can serve the public and provide people living in remote areas with access to government services. Being a care network in the future allows you to provide care and services to more people.

Project for Improving the Quality of Medicine and Public Health

Phon Hospital, Khon Kaen Province