Thailand's Emergency Medical Services Fall Short in 2,574 Subdistricts
Nearly 2,575 Thai subdistricts lack adequate emergency medical coverage, with a Senate panel proposing to expand paramedics to 7,500 within five years to close critical service gaps across the country.
Thailand still has 2,574 subdistricts without adequate standard emergency medical units, while a Senate working group is pushing for expanded local coverage and plans to increase the number of paramedics to 7,500 within five years.
Senator Dr Premsak Piayura, chairman of a working group studying reforms to crisis management and emergency medical services through digital technology under the Senate Committee on Information Technology, Communications and Telecommunications, revealed the findings following the group's latest meeting on 13 September.
The review found major gaps in coverage, staffing and emergency response units, particularly in thousands of subdistricts where residents still lack access to standard emergency medical services.
Fiscal 2025 data showed that 4,861 subdistricts, or 65.38%, had standard medical response units, while 2,574 subdistricts, or 34.62%, did not have sufficient units to serve residents.
By region, the Northeast had the highest coverage at 75.06%, followed by the North at 71.70% and the South at 67.68%. The Central region had the lowest coverage at 46.62%.
Phuket had 100% coverage, followed by Lamphun at 98.04% and Satun at 94.44%. Among the provinces with the lowest coverage were Samut Songkhram at 27.78%, Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya at 29.67% and Ang Thong at 34.25%.
Advanced medical response units averaged just 1.76 units per 100,000 people, or roughly one unit for every 56,818 people, below the reference level used in the study. Only 39 provinces had at least two standard advanced units per 100,000 people.
Thailand's emergency medical system begins with emergency reports made through the 1669 hotline and digital channels, followed by patient triage, dispatch of response units, treatment at the scene, transportation and transfer to hospital.
Authorities have also developed the National Digital Emergency Medical Services Platform, or NDEMS, and the RNIS emergency call and dispatch system to connect information, identify callers' locations, manage incoming calls, record contact histories and support real-time responses during crises and disasters.
Premsak said Thailand currently has 92 emergency medical command units and 5,521 approved medical response units, including 4,372 basic units, 1,102 advanced units and 102 specialist units. Some units are classified at more than one level.
The system has 7,449 professional medical personnel, including 1,798 emergency physicians, 3,779 emergency nurse practitioners and just 1,790 paramedics. There are also more than 135,353 support personnel, including 111,605 emergency medical volunteers.
Thailand has 9,841 EMS vehicles, comprising 9,641 patient transport vehicles and 200 support vehicles. A total of 15,092 emergency medical service vehicles had been certified to standards between 2021 and 30 June 2026.
Authorities have also developed the Thai Sky Doctor system to reach patients in remote areas, difficult terrain and islands, as well as places where ground transport is difficult.
