Public health authorities are planning to set up a centralised donation fund for state-run hospitals, which are struggling due to higher costs, including those incurred by gold-card holders.
The proposal, which is being discussed between the Public Health Department and the Comptroller-General's Department under the Finance Ministry, will also clarify questions over budgets and grants for each hospital as well as establishing a framework for the donation fund.
Donations are considered important for hospitals as state budgets alone are often insufficient, Public Health Minister Piyasakol Sakolsatayadorn said yesterday, adding that one aim of the plan is to make donations "transparent and accountable".
The ministries are thrashing out the details of a donation fund for more than 10,000 hospitals. Initially, the officials want the fund to be jointly overseen by hospital directors and representatives from the civic sector, Dr Piyasakol said.
Donors can specify what they want their money to be spent on, or else hospitals will have free rein to manage the money, on condition that the public must be clearly informed how the cash is used, he said.
He admitted that many hospitals are in "financial crisis" and that budget shortfalls have have been an enduring problem over the years.
One of the main reasons for the situation worsening has been the ageing population coupled with the rising costs of modern treatments and equipment, Dr Piyasakol said.
In the 2016 financial year, 119 hospitals faced a "level-seven" financial crisis, which is the most serious level, he said.
The ministry managed to reduce that number to 87 the following year, using various methods ranging from special mid-year five-billion-baht state budgets, to courting more donations, according to Dr Piyasakol.
The National Health Security Office, which oversees the gold-card universal healthcare scheme which gives free medical services to card-holders, has also helped by introducing many useful measures.
Among them is budgeting on a per head basis to better balance revenues and expenses, Dr Piyasakol said.
Yet donations are still needed, he said, highlighting the 2,191km charity run of rocker Artiwara Kongmalai, aka "Toon Bodyslam".
