On May 2021 at Field Hospital for the Disabled, Sirindhorn Science Home, Pathum Thani
Mr. Jurin Laksanawisit, Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand and the Minister of Commerce, Dr. Anek Laothamatas, Minister of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation, Mr. Satit Pitutecha, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Public Health, Mrs. Patcharee Arayakul, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security and Committee of the Development of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, together with Dr. Narong Sirilertworakul, President of NSTDA had presided over the Field Hospital for the Disabled at Sirindhorn Science Home, which will be officially opened on June 1, 2021. This field hospital results from the cooperative effort between three ministries, namely the Ministry of Public Health, the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation, and the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security, with its main function to support people with disabilities between the ages of 15-65 years old.
Mr. Jurin Laksanawisit, Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand and the Minister of Commerce, said that the government has placed importance on all groups of people to reduce inequality within the society. According to the current situation of the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of infected people is steadily increasing, especially people with disabilities. It was found that the risk factors of the infection towards the disabled are mostly from their lifestyle e.g. touching objects, and their family members. The Field Hospital for the Disabled at Sirindhorn Science Home, therefore, will provide a good care service for both people with disabilities and their families. The medical personnel will be equipped with the technology to help facilitate and reduce contact between themselves and the COVID-19 patients. There are three important issues that had been prepared for smooth operations, as follows: 1) Building, environmental management, and assistive technologies for people with disabilities were provided by NSTDA. Some examples of these technologies include a remote-controlled delivery cart called ‘Aree’, a UVC light sterilizer to reduce the spread of infection, a TTRS application (communication aids for the hearing impaired), and the ‘PETE’ (Patient Isolation and Transportation Chamber), 2) Medical equipment and training courses of caring the COVID-19 patients were prepared, and 3) Social welfare, life, and consumer goods are supported by the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities. The Department is also responsible for coordinating and providing social welfare during the treatment of the disabled and their family at the field hospital, as well as the assistance and follow-up plans after their recovery.
As for MTEC’s contribution to the Field Hospital, its Design and Industry Solutions Research Team, Engineering Design and Computation Research Group had delivered the ‘PETE’ (Patient Isolation and Transportation Chamber) and a remote-controlled delivery cart ‘Aree’ to the field hospital for the disabled at Sirindhorn Science Home to support the medical personnel against COVID-19.
Dr. Anek Laothamatas, Minister of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation, said that the Ministry has supported the government’s policy on solving the COVID-19 situation by applying science and technology in the research and development, product innovation, medical equipment, drugs, and vaccines, which 3 types of them were developed to cope with the COVID-19 infection. Currently, the vaccine development is in the testing process for the volunteer as a final step and is expected to start production and to begin distribution within the country, as well as export to foreign countries, by the end of this year. Moreover, BIOTEC researchers had also successfully synthesized the drug precursor called ‘Favipiravir’ to be used as an anti-COVID-19 drug. The establishment of this Field Hospital for the disabled at Sirindhorn Science Home was supported by Sirindhorn National Medical Rehabilitation Institute (SNMRI), Department of Medical Services, Ministry of Public Health to operate the treatment based on the technology that meets the needs of people with disabilities and helps facilitate their lifestyles. Dr. Anek assured that this driving force will create a service system of the Field Hospital to be able to meet the needs of the disabled and appropriately facilitate them and their family during the treatment with the technology, the medical equipment, as well as the care of doctors, nurses, and staff.
The Field Hospital for the disabled at Sirindhorn Science Home is considered to be the first field hospital for people with disabilities. The Ministry of Public Health has placed importance on reducing the inequality of people with disabilities and equally improving their quality of life. For this reason, the Ministry of Public Health and other relevant partners had established the field hospital for the disabled by the name of ‘Field Hospital for the Disabled, Sirindhorn Science Home’. It is located on the 5th-10th floor of the building with 224 beds for disabled patients. Moreover, NSTDA and partner agencies had applied 11 practical inventions to be used as tools to reduce the spread of the COVID-19 within the hospital.
On July 23, 2008, the Ministry of Science and Technology (then) had received the royal grace and the royal permission from Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn to use the name ‘Sirindhorn Science Home: SSH’ to operate a Permanent Science Camp as a learning center for the youth who are interested in practicing and developing their science and technology skills, as well as organize the activities to facilitate the learning process for the disabled to meet the government’s policy on reducing inequality and creating equality in Thai society.
Mr. Satit Pitutecha, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Public Health, said that rapidly spreading of the COVID-19 in Thailand has affected Thai population in many groups, especially people with disabilities who have a high risk of infection and lack of health services accessibility. Currently, there are reports of people with disabilities infected with the COVID-19 and cannot be treated in the general field hospitals or other hospitels due to the lack of necessary facitlities.
The establishment of this field hospital for the disabled, therefore, will enable people with disabilities to be able to fully access the medical services. The Ministry of Public Health is ready to support the medical team, which consists of doctors, nurses, multi-disciplinary teams, and operational staff to prepare and set up a care system for 24 hours a day with modern technology equipment for monitoring patients’ symptoms, and x-ray images of their lungs, as well as preparing a transferring plan to the hospital for emergency cases by providing ambulances for 24 hours a day. In addition, in the process of receiving information for patients with disabilities, there will be a coordination from both the handicapped hotline and the 1668 hotline. On behalf of the Ministry of Public Health, Mr. Satit Pitutecha, Deputy Minister, would like to thank the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security, Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation, National Institute for Emergency Medicine, other relevant agencies, and the medical personnel for this cooperation.
Mrs. Patcharee Arayakul, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security, said that the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security and the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities has realized and cared about the people who are infected and affected during this COVID-19 situation. Therefore, the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security, the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, and other relevant agencies had established a working group to help people with disabilities and their families under the name ‘We together team’ or ‘ทีมเรามีเรา’ in Thai. The team consists of social workers, social developers, other operators to assist the disabled infected with COVID-19 both in Bangkok and other provinces, and will coordinate to find a hospital and medical facilities, provide assistance during the treatment, and develop a follow-up plan through the social assistance services hotline 1300 and handicapped hotline 1479, as well as the TTRS application (communication aids for the hearing impaired). Furthermore, the team has completed an area survey and found that more than 500 of the disabled and their families are unemployed and have insufficient income, as well as the caregivers who have problems with the burden of the disabled expenses. The establishment of this Field Hospital for the disabled, therefore, will help create the distribution of assistance for people with disabilities and their families who are infected with COVID-19.
This Field Hospital is aimed to be a prototype project that efficiently respond to the specific needs of people with disabilities in accessing and utilizing services, as well as provide safe and efficient treatment. Lastly, the Ministry of Public Health would like to thank all the agencies for the establishment of the Field Hospital for the Disabled at Sirindhorn Science Hospital, and would like to be one of the encouragements in this fight against COVID-19 that we will overcome this crisis together.
