PATTAYA, Thailand – Deputy Mayor Wutthisak Rermkijakarn visited local community health centers on March 16 to meet with village health volunteers and discuss ways to strengthen healthcare support for residents, particularly the elderly and bedridden patients.
Accompanied by mayoral assistants, city council members, department heads, and relevant officials, the deputy mayor visited two community primary healthcare centers under the city’s supervision — Chaiyaphruek Community Health Center and Kor Phai 2 Community Health Center — to hear directly from volunteers about challenges and operational needs in the field.
At the Chaiyaphruek center, officials learned that the facility is currently recruiting additional volunteers to help provide care and support for patients in the community. Staff also raised concerns about shortages of essential supplies, including adult diapers, and proposed acquiring an electric golf cart and a sidecar vehicle to assist with transportation and daily operations around the center.
Volunteers also requested improvements to the building’s roof after rainwater was found to enter the facility during heavy downpours.
Wutthisak explained that any procurement of vehicles must first go through proper administrative procedures before being submitted to the Pattaya city executive committee for approval.
At the Kor Phai 2 Community Health Center, volunteers demonstrated their work promoting community health through services such as measuring height, weight, and Body Mass Index (BMI) for residents while providing basic medical assistance.
Officials also noted that paracetamol is frequently used in routine community healthcare services.
During the visit, the deputy mayor praised the dedication of Thailand’s village health volunteers, known as Aor Sor Mor, who play a critical role in monitoring community health, offering hygiene guidance, and assisting vulnerable groups including the elderly, low-income residents, and those with limited mobility.
He encouraged stronger coordination between community volunteers and relevant government agencies to improve healthcare outreach and ensure more efficient public health services.
Pattaya City is also moving forward with plans to establish a community patient transport service, designed to help bedridden patients, elderly residents, and people with mobility limitations travel more easily to medical facilities.
Officials say the initiative aims to strengthen Pattaya’s grassroots healthcare system while ensuring residents across the city have better access to essential medical services.
