Has anybody else had any recent experience visiting Chiang Mai Ram Hospital with no health insurance? I stumbled in on Tuesday with a massively swollen ankle and a deep gash on my leg after a motorbike accident. The doctor told me that I had fractured my ankle, put it in a cast and dressed the wound, which cost me around 10,000 Baht. When I asked how I should move around (I had arrived alone on a motorbike); they seemed unsure. In the end, I asked for crutches as it seemed clear that I wouldnt be able to simply walk out, hop on my bike and drive home. Not sure how much weight I should put on the damaged foot whilst moving though, I asked two seperate nurses their opinions and they both said around 50%. I walked around a bit to demonstrate what I thought 50% meant and they both agreed it looked correct. They told me I would be on crutches for about two months. Anyway, after being instructed to come in for a wound dressing every day (for another 1000 - 1500 Baht) I had a follow-up appointment with the doctor 4 days later. When I returned, the doctor told me that the wound looked as if it was healing well, but it was a bit discoloured indicating another possible infection. He then recommended that I check in to the hospital for two nights to have intravenous antibiotic injections to be on the safe side. God knows what this would cost! A friend who had driven me to the hospital that day, said that this is common practice at Chiang Mai Ram. After refusing (I was already spending every penny I possessed on treatment I wasnt even sure that I needed), he relented and gave me two more expensive courses of antibiotics to take at home instead. He also seemed puzzled that the nurses had suggested 50% weight-bearing, telling me that this was completely inaccurate and it should be 0% weight-bearing. Because it was still very swollen, he ordered another X-ray and told me that the 50% weight-bearing (recommended by the nurses) had caused the fracture to worsen significantly and I should now put no weight on it for up to 3 months. I left (after being charged another 2800 Baht) with further instructions for daily wound cleaning and yet another appointment to see the doctor again three days later. I have little doubt that if I continue their treatment regime then next time they will attempt to re-admit me again by whatever means possible.. Anyway, thats my experience with having no health insurance at Chiang Mai Ram Hospital - I was just curious how it compares to other peoples?
Posted on: Sun, 18 May 2014 04:58:13 +0000
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