Bangkok Hospital Hua Hin or San Paolo Hospital Hua Hin?

[skorts]

Would be interested to know which hospital you would choose for medical treatment. We currently have medical insurance.

Have heard good and not so good things about both hospitals so would appreciate any feedback - good or bad.

Many thanks

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[sledpull]

San Paulo has a retired MD from Germany who deals with expats.  They have a Filipina nurse who speaks excellent English also. My wife received the medical checkup there which was very thorough.

The communication process is better for most expats there I believe who do not speak Thai.

 

Bangkok Hua Hin appeals to me because it appears so clean and organized.  Unfortunately, I have not found the fluent English speaker there to answer questions for me.

 

Bumrungrad  in Bangkok is excellent.  I had a procedure there and was very satisfied with optimal customer service, friendliness, medical knowledge, organization and cleanliness,  I rate it much higher than Cleveland Clinic in all of my aforementioned points.

 

Good Luck!

 

[juehoe]

We used first the San Paulo and then later the Bangkok Hospital because it was better equipped.

Meanwhile the San Paulo has improved. My last impressions with the Bangkok Hospital were negative.

It seems that the physicians are more interested in their own profit and the profit of the hospital. They tend to sell you a lot of expensive examinations and medications.

I still think that they are capable but you have to question their prescriptions.

I fortunately didn't have to go to the hospitals for many months. I would use the San Paulo for standard and the Bangkok Hospital for special issues (which are not available at San Paulo).

The rooms seems to be nicer in the Bangkok Hospital.

[skorts]

Thanks sledpull and juehoe. Will head to San Paolo and register there first.


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[AliasJohn]

I agree with Juehoe. I have experienced both hospitals in the past 3 years. The first was BKK Hospital which is very nice and clean however the doctors have their own agenda and that's to line their pocket. My wife was also dangerously misdiagnosed by their Senior Doctor and we had a second opinion by San Paulo  who confirmed she did not have what the BKK Doctor claimed she had. 

Last year I had a procedure at SP and as Joehoe pointed out the staff have very good english skills so it was first hand information to me. The rooms are not quite a 5star hotel like BKK and also not a 5 star price as I don't have health insurance. 

I would head to SP first for sure.

 

[darrendsd]

They are both a rip off but Sao Paolo is the cheaper of the 2

 

If your insurance cover is high then BKK Hospital is probably the better of the 2

[geriatrickid]

The  determnining factor is why you are seeking medical care. If I  had a serious trauma, I would want Bangkok Hospital, only because they could stabilize me  and get me to Bangkok or Singapore depending upon the crisis. They are good for non complex issues.     I was not impressed in my dealings with Sao Paulo, and found them to be slow to respond to inquiries and arrogant, as if they were doing me a favour.    Honestly, I don't have much respect for the  medical care available in Hua Hin. I would rather be treated at the veterinary college, but sometimes you have to take what is available.

[MUSTYJACK]

I too was seriously misdiagnosed at Hua Hin Bangkok Hospital by an extremely bad tempered doctor who could not stop shouting at his assistant nurse. Whilst this was going on I averted my gaze and read his framed Doctors certificate that was  hung on the wall by his desk. When he saw me looking at it he verbally attacked me with " Whats the matter, why are you reading that, dont you trust me?"

 

Quite incredible really.

 

This man, after reading me the pathology report for another patient and declaring me disease free, then realised he was reading the wrong report and accessed the correct report declared me to be suffering from a stage three malignancy, one that would need immediate surgical intervention.  I was booked in for the next day for some exploratory surgery to remove some lymph glands. I contacted my insurance company who immediately advised me to cancel the operation, leave that hospital and they would book me in to see an oncologist at Bumrungrad in Bangkok.

 

When I called Hua Hin Bangkok Hosp. later that day to inform to the doctor I was cancelling the operation he went ballistic saying I had to pay for the operation as the theatre and the staff had been booked. When I asked for the pathology reports and the original biopsy samples to be sent to Bumrungrad he refused, and berated me for going to Bumrungrad, saying all they do there is put patients through test after test after test. 

 

The insurance company had to intervene to get the biopsies and the pathology reports sent to Bangkok, it took them a week to release them.

 

Eventually after a series of scans and tests professionally carried out at Bumrungrad, along with re checking of the original biopsies, the diagnosis was given as a stage 1 cancer that would only need minor surgery to treat it. Radiotherapy and Chemo would not be needed. I had the biopsies sent to an oncologist in the UK for another check, and the stage 1 diagnosis was confirmed.

 

I get a cold sweat every time  I drive past that <deleted> hospital and would not even enter the place to take a dump. It seems to be a money factory. I dont know if that turd of a doctor still works there or not. I thank my lucky stars that my insurance company (a thai company) intervened and arranged appointments for me with a consultant oncologist and also organised the transfer of my records and biopsies.

 

5 years later I am still cancer free.

 

I cant comment on San Paulo hospital, but some German friends swear by it.

 

My first port of call in the event of illness or accident would be the Hua Hin government hospital .

[darrendsd]

Bangkok Hospital throughout Thailand are known as being rip off merchants

[Arsdorf]

Having lived and worked in Thailand for over 20 years, the worst treatment I've ever received at any Thai hospital or clinic is that provided to me recently at San Paolo Hospital, Hua Hin. 

 

The Hospital Director was kind enough to send me a letter apologizing for the hospital staff's unprofessional conduct.

 

There are better, safer, more professional alternatives in Hua Hin and elsewhere.  Be warned that your experience might parallel mine!

[Aquaman2016]

I have just had a minor Outpatient treatment at Bangkok Hospital that I have described on another thread. Save to say I feel that I was unnecessarily charged for second opinions and medication that I did not need. The last doctor that I saw rocked up 22 minutes late (I was her first appointment of the day) wearing a face mask as she was full of sniffles. If the is a flu pandemic arising from that hospital, no need to look any further!!! She did not even have the courtesy to say “Hello” or “Sorry for being late”. Never again.

I have a friend who used a Bangkok Hospital for an operation. The daily post-op charges were so astronomical that he transferred to a premier room at Hua Hin Hospital at a fraction of the cost.

In future I will use Hua Hin Hospital for minor treatment and San Paulo for more serious treatment. For very serious treatment, I’ll travel to Bangkok (but definitely not Bangkok Hospital!!!!)


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[AJBangkok]

We had a similar issue. The wife’s mother had a cold so we took her to the outpatient clinic. While waiting for the doctor she was called to the nurse station to check weight, temp etc. When she came back she said was ordered to have more tests ( I think one of them was TB) I asked if she had seen the doctor yet and she said no she had to have the tests before seeing the doctor. The bill came out at 12k and I immediately ask to see an administrator and asked them how in hell the doctor could order tests without setting eyes on the patient. They offered a partial refund but we refused and said we would like an official investigation and would not let it go. Demanded that the doctor come out and explain himself but he refused to. Got the nurse instead who said it was the doctors order. Several days later they came back to us and blamed the nurse.

[ThaiPauly]

Up here in Chiang Mai we are spoiled for choice when it comes to hospitals which is one reason why there are so many westerners living here.

 

Bangkok Hospital opened here about 2 years ago and needless to say it is the most expensive, but people do talk highly of it, especially those with health insurance.

 

I think there are about 9 or 10 off the top of my head. They vary in quality and price the same as anywhere and a lot of the time it's not the hospital that's important but finding the right doctor whichever hospital he/she works at. You have to hunt them down and the Health Section of Thai Visa especially with Sheryl's assistance is a great way to find them

 

A lot of them work at more than one so you can if you play your cards right pay 50% less at another hospital if you don't mind waiting a couple more hours to see him/her.

 

Having said all this at least in HH you don't have to cope with 2-3 months of smog every year!! That really swells the hospital's coffers