Hospital Demands 30,000 Baht Upfront For Emergency Surgery

On July 5, 2569, the Media Association for Southern Border Province Development received a complaint about a 76-year-old patient requiring urgent major surgery at a hospital in Yala province. Hospital staff demanded a 30,000 baht advance deposit before entering the operating room, or the surgery would not proceed. The family, whose members work as rubber tappers earning 200-300 baht daily, was forced to frantically borrow money to meet the demand.

The patient's daughter, speaking with her voice trembling, explained that her mother is a retired homemaker who underwent emergency surgery on July 4 for a critical aortic disease. Around 10:00 a.m. on July 4, hospital staff firmly told relatives they must deposit 30,000 baht in cash as an advance before surgery, warning that without it, the hospital could not proceed.

"We were shocked and panicked because our mother needed emergency surgery and our family is struggling," she said. "All my siblings work as rubber tappers for others, earning only 200-300 baht daily total, but we support seven family members. When hit with such a huge amount in such a short time, everyone frantically called people we know until we scraped together 30,000 baht to pay the deposit so our mother could have a chance to live."

After paying the deposit and receiving only a receipt, the mother entered surgery. A doctor working in the operating room emerged and asked the family with surprise, "Did you have to pay?" When they confirmed they had, the doctor expressed sympathy.

The daughter also noted that while waiting outside the intensive care unit, other patients' relatives sitting nearby were complaining about being charged excess amounts as deposits before surgery. "Staff just said it was a deposit and would be refunded if not fully used, but nobody knows the total cost or whether we'll actually get money back," she said.

A doctor working in Yala confirmed to reporters that hospitals are increasingly incorrectly charging patients under the 30-baht universal health insurance scheme. The problem has spread across multiple departments, directly impacting people's lives. Some patients requiring emergency brain surgery have been forced to take on debt to pay additional charges. The latest patient needing urgent surgery likely struggled to secure loans. The family plans to file a complaint with the Provincial Public Health Office.