With rising violence against personnel in state hospitals, the Thai government has proposed a THB2m ($0.63m) life insurance coverage for each medical staff working at emergency wards according to the Public Health Ministry's permanent secretary Dr Sukhum Kanchanapimai who was speaking at a seminar, reported local publication ThaiVisa news. In the last seven years, there has been over 51 violent incidents in state hospitals which have caused a total of 10 deaths and left 56 injured.

At the same seminar, assistant to the Medical Council of Thailand’s secretary-general, Passakorn Wanchaijiraboon said that his council had conducted a survey regarding security at emergency wards for 1,726 medical personnel from 20 to 30 April.

The survey found that around 51.5% of the respondents reported experiencing some form of violence one to three times on average every year. and 54.9% of respondents regarded the risk of violence as contributing significantly to medical personnel resigning.

The survey also revealed that around 48.4% of the incidents had led to common injuries, while 26.9% had resulted in organ loss and even death. For 96% of the cases mentioned, the main reason behind violence was inebriation which led to 97.2% of respondents supporting a ban on drunk visitors to emergency wards.

To improve security in state hospitals, the government has also proposed a review of emergency wards’ layouts, double doors with controlled access and additional CCTV cameras. 

Current security measures at emergency wards include having guards on duty, alarms for staff to call for help, safety drills and self-defence training.

According to Dr Kanchanapimai, court trials are ongoing for four cases of alleged intrusion at a hospital’s emergency ward. An unknown number of similar cases are also under the public prosecutor’s review.