With increased economic activity and higher per capita income, supporting infrastructure for housing, education, healthcare and other lifestyle needs, will inevitably follow. Currently, this is very much the case in terms of hospitals. With growing demand from Thai patients as well as expats around the country, hospital operators are expanding their networks into the provinces, reports The Nation.
Samitivej Hospital Group plans to open a new hospital in Chonburi by the second quarter of next year. This facility will be the fifth hospital in its portfolio, joining hospitals in Bangkok, Sriracha and Thonburi. The new project will consist of 160 beds in the first phase, with the expandable premises.
Also, Bangkok Dusit Medical Service, the operator of Bangkok Hospital, last week announced the acquisition of Sanamchan Hospital in Nakhon Pathom province. As a result of the acquisition, two of Sanamchan’s sister hospitals, one in Nakhon Pathom and the other in Phetchaburi, will also be managed by Bangkok Hospital Group. This move is part of the group’s 2014 expansion plans to serve patient demand in the west of the country. Bangkok Hospital Group boasts 31 hospitals in its nationwide network and plans to open five more this year, and another three by 2016.
Large scale operators also rely on the medical tourism business, which is expected to normalize during the second half of the year, following the country’s coup. Tourism accounts for 10 percent of Thailand’s economy and, of the 26.5 million people who visited last year, millions came for medical treatment, spa and healthcare services.
