The Ministry of Public Health places importance on the continuous development of the emergency medical system to care for all lives efficiently. The National Institute for Emergency Medicine has developed medical systems covering land, water, and air.

      Following the resolution of the COVID-19 situation, the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) will be an important area for welcoming tourists and investors, as well as driving the economy, tourism, and industry. As a result, in the project to improve emergency medical services in the pilot area of the Eastern Special Development Zone 2023-2027, there have been discussions with the public and private sectors on organizing a comprehensive integrated emergency medical service system in the EEC area, with seven issues in the development of emergency medical services:

1. Encouraging Local Administrative Organizations (LOAs) to collaborate with provincial hospitals in the development of Call Center and Advance Ambulance;
2. Development of a Helicopter Dispatcher Center;
3. Improve aircraft emergency services and expert personnel;
4. Construct a hospital where patients could be transported from accident sites;
5. Development of Maritime Emergency Medical System (Maritime EMS);
6. Developing financial, fiscal, and administrative systems;
7. Governance and development of EMS systems and individual information systems.

      As part of the expansion of the Helicopter Emergency Medical Services (HEMS), all relevant agencies, including personnel resources, tools, medicines, medical supplies, vehicles, facilities, and practices, will be ready from the time of the incident to effectively support all lives, reduce deaths and disabilities, ensure public safety, and reassure investors and tourists about the Thai medical and public health system.

      A public service for Thailand’s aircraft emergency medical system is the transporting of emergency patients by aircraft under the emergency medical system – contacted via the number 1669 – increasing the chances of survival for emergency patients in remote or difficult-to-reach areas, and promoting equal service. 

      There were 1,809,400 emergency operations, 1,808,799 patients, and 1,809,028 times on land, 1,475 times on water, and 104 times in air in fiscal year 2022 (October 2021 - September 2022). There were 78,925 emergency operations and 78,893 emergency patients in the EEC area. There are plans to expand the service to cover the entire country, with a survey area to be prepared.

Source: Office of Information, Ministry of Public Health, Building 3, Office of the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Public Health, Tiwanon Road, Talad Khwan Subdistrict, Mueang District, Nonthaburi Province 

Telephone: +66 2590 1000

Release date 9 January 2023