BANGKOK, Thailand – The Ministry of Public Health has opened a 100-bed field hospital in Sa Kaeo province and activated inter-regional hospital transfers as conflict along the Thai–Cambodian border intensifies. Two more hospitals—Aranyaprathet and Khlong Hat—have closed due to escalating risk, bringing the total number of fully closed hospitals to 12, with another eight facilities now limiting services.
Dr Ekachai Piensriwatchara, Deputy Permanent Secretary and spokesperson for the Ministry, confirmed that 634 in-patients have been safely evacuated to hospitals in lower-risk areas. Medical services at 198 subdistrict health promotion hospitals have also been suspended, while seven more have partially scaled back operations. The new field hospital in Sa Kaeo is intended to help absorb the patient load from high-risk zones.
To ensure readiness for large-scale evacuations, the ministry has conducted a tabletop drill that outlines evacuation routes, patient transport sequencing, and vehicle requirements. Hospitals in Health Regions 10, 9, and 6 have been paired with those in Regions 8, 7, and 4, respectively, to allow for rapid transfers if the situation worsens.
Public health services are being maintained across 934 evacuation centers housing over 258,000 people, including more than 46,000 classified as vulnerable. So far, 317 patients have been transferred, while emergency response teams, mental health units, and disease surveillance teams are actively operating. Mental health screenings have identified 388 individuals in need of continued psychological support.
In response to reports that Cambodia may have positioned long-range artillery near the border, the ministry held an evacuation drill covering patients within a 100-kilometer radius. Blood supplies remain stable, but the public is encouraged to donate in anticipation of future medical needs. (NNT)
