Guest Posted September 27, 2003 Report Share Posted September 27, 2003 Says Stew: I read an article about them ages ago, it mentioned that 'the body snatchers' are almost in 'competition' with people who drive around in a similar fashion waiting for an ccident....but not to help the victims, but to rob them of their belongings. Or perhaps it was just generally a problem with bystandrs who seize the 'oppportunity' to grab some booty before anyone arrives on the scene. Forget the details. However, doesn't Bkk (or is it Thailand) thaty has the highest road death rate in the world, something like 70-80,0000/year? More than a few chances per day for some dud to get rich of the dead. True or not? don't believe everything you read. many writers compensate their lack of knowledge by sensationalising things. ten years ago, when there was no clear territories yet you had those rivalries between poh teck tueng and ruamkantanyu. not anymore. and regarding those thefts - pure exageration, rumours, and a little truth behind. in some suburban areas and upcountry you have some fake rescue cars, and unregulated rescue people going around far off scenes picking up people. often those get mistaken for poh teck tueng as this is the largest foundation of all. it is easy to get a policeradio, easy to get some flashing lights and go off. if a poh teck tueng member here does that, the truth would come out as every incident has to be reported by radio and writing. police, police volonteers, police informers, ruam chuay duay gan volonteers, night reporters etc. do know the local rescue volonteers, and will also report their attendence. but, as i said, in suburban, far off accident scenes things are a bit different. nevertheless, it happens, but not that often. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Straycat Posted September 27, 2003 Report Share Posted September 27, 2003 Says flyonzewall: why don't you think about volonteering? i have recently met one farang who was inspired by the metro article to volonteer there, they put him in one of the ambulances at first, sent him to get training as well. Actually, why not! It seems I do have the time to spare nowadays.... Hmmm, I should probably talk to my GF's friend at Po Teck Teung (if she's still working there, I dunno). Meanwhile do you have any advice who to contact or how to get around to it? -- PM me in case you do! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cardinalblue Posted September 27, 2003 Report Share Posted September 27, 2003 Fly, You keep thinking I am attacking the volunteers and I am not. Look at it from a policy standpoint. The volunteers do probably an excellent job in what they do but they are not EMS trained professionals. As you said, they are not performing any medical intervention. And medical intervention in the field does show signficant life saving benefits... I am focusing on the gov taking responsibilty to provide what is needed to try to catch up with thailand's desire to be the region's top health care provider. Currently their desire to have a great medical care system and their EMS system are out of sync. They also probably view them separately which leads to why the growing discepancy between the two. If the thai gov continue to think that the volunteer efforts is an adequate substitution for what the defintion is of an EMS system, then no, they will never have an effective EMS system in place. And yes, life is cheap in LOS as defined by the lack of any EMS system and their health policy leaders. I was just pointing out the collection rate of recyclable runs about 20% thanks to the scavengers. But if BKK wants to get serious about solid waste mangement and recycling, then the authorities have to move away from volunteer efforts just like they need to do with medical emergencies in the field. As I stated earlier, there really is no EMS system in place and this is what the authorities need to focus on. And not get hung up on what the volunteers are doing. The focus should be on what isn't getting done. More of a big picture direction... The volunteers could still play a vital role in some capacity but shouldn't be defined as the only central system which they currently are. Maybe they still are 20 years away or so from having any resemblance of an EMS system (due to bigger basic medical issues to deal with now) or maybe it will take an accident or two of a VIP similar to the thai male singer and the recognition that their canals are indeed polluted and pose potential health risks..... LOS seems to function much more effectively on issues from a knee jerk reaction than any anticipatory approach..... Cardinalblue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest lazyphil Posted September 27, 2003 Report Share Posted September 27, 2003 <<You keep thinking I am attacking the volunteers and I am not>> Same me. <<I am focusing on the gov taking [color:"red"] responsibilty [/color] to provide what is needed to try to catch up with thailand's desire to be the region's top health care provider>> Same me. Nobody should let then shirk them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pattaya127 Posted September 27, 2003 Report Share Posted September 27, 2003 don't be insulting - they might be the people who could save your live here one day. ------------------------------- Mod: Fly, thanks to you, the thread is going absolutely great. Let's not go the way of assaulting another member. It is clear that CB talked about trash scavengers, focusing on public duties the Gov would not assume, comparing to another service, ie. trash collection, not making a cynical amalgam of the 2 public services. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 27, 2003 Report Share Posted September 27, 2003 >>>Maybe they still are 20 years away or so from having any resemblance of an EMS system (due to bigger basic medical issues to deal with now) or maybe it will take an accident or two of a VIP similar to the thai male singer and the recognition that their canals are indeed polluted and pose potential health risks.....<<< it is more that there are 20 years or more needed for anything resembling a proper emergency systhem. this place is far from a developed country. there are though definately constantly improvements made. 10 years ago the rivalries between the different foundations were rampant. now there are clearly defined areas and dutyshifts (still a few rivalry problems with different outfits, but nothing serious). the volonteers are getting constant training updates. upcountry the outfits get also better organised (the poh teck tueng for example is heavily involved in helping upcountry foundations). the poh teck tueng itself gets a lot of help from foreign organisations as well, in terms of newer desaster relief techniques, schooling etc. so, in that aspect things are moving in the right direction. thing is, that there are much more serious issues to solve in the healthservice first, such as a proper functioning insurance systhem for everyone (the 30 baht sceme is just the beginning), so that hospitals cannot refuse injured anymore. from personal experience i can only say that i have seen more people dying because hospitals refused patients than by mistakes of the rescue volonteers. in lack of a proper systhem i believe that we have here something working very well under the circumstances, better than most countries of the region. lets not forget, even if thailand aspires to be the leading healthprovider in the region, that does not say much if you compare it to most western countries. but compared to places like india, laos, burma, cambodia or vietnam thailand is way better. things have to be taken step by step. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 27, 2003 Report Share Posted September 27, 2003 FlyW :bow: Thank you on behalf of all concerned on the board. I'm sure TB had no idea when he originally posted this on the Bored Bar, that we actually have someone with this 1st hand, in depth, hands on knowledge. Your real personal knowledge of this critical area is rare for most (including Thais) and I greatly appreciate you taking the time and effort to help we outsiders muddle through this very 'foreign' concept of health care. Newspaper articles and TV shows may make us aware of these issues, often with a self-serving slant, but only someone with personal knowledge can help us to understand it. Very seriously, thank you. This may be the most important thing I have ever read on this board. So, without going to the politics involved in the functioning of this service....you have mentioned that it is the Chinese-Thai community that operates these foundations. Is this also true in other LOS cities? For sure I would think the North, but down south? I have always been impressed by the social conscience of Chinese communities throughout the world. Despite their often oppressive gov'ts at home, their compassion and practical solutions to day to day life have IMO left an enviable legacy around the world. I can only hope that the future will see similar efforts from the western business and community leaders. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 28, 2003 Report Share Posted September 28, 2003 I've heard rumours they practice euthanasia in extreme cases. What do you think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torneyboy Posted September 28, 2003 Author Report Share Posted September 28, 2003 Hi Fly Point taken. BTW are there many falang volunteers? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 28, 2003 Report Share Posted September 28, 2003 >>>BTW are there many falang volunteers?<<< i know of one. i have met him once a few weeks ago, but i don't know if he's still with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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