Medical checks and treatments abroad have become easy picks for many Cambodians as local hospitals were blamed for poor service, with medical practitioners allegedly committing mistakes in their profession.
Chey Sreyneth, one of 11 interviewees, told CamboJA News that she and her family regularly met doctors at a hospital in Thailand. Sreyneth, who was from Siem Reap, currently lives in Phnom Penh with her family. Seeking medical treatment in Thailand was her main choice as it was cheaper than in Cambodia as well as its treatment quality and service, which were better and more reliable.
“Honestly speaking, our local hospitals don’t give clear diagnosis. Doctors prescribed many medicines and sometimes administer intravenous [IV] therapy but we still don’t get better or we just feel better for a short while,” Sreyneth said.
“My mom decided to take me to Thailand as my illness did not improve. In Thailand, I got a blood test and the doctor gave me some medicine for three months. I only took two tablets each time. They didn’t give many types of drugs like our local doctors,” she added.
Cambodian medical practitioners should pay more attention to their profession and ethics to make sure patients feel comfortable when they visit hospitals. In some public hospitals, she said, the cost of treatment was even higher than in Thailand but the treatment was not on par with them.
Ly Pon, a Kampot resident, echoed Sreyneth, saying that the health service in Cambodia still needed improvement. For instance, the diagnosis capability of doctors was limited, unclear and the ethics for some doctors or nurses also needed to be improved. His family usually sought treatment in Vietnam.
Based on his experience of doctors in Thailand and Vietnam, Ly Pon said their diagnoses of a patient’s illness were more accurate compared to doctors in Cambodia, and prescribed lesser medicines, plus the recovery was fast.
“Given a choice, we wouldn’t want to get treated abroad. Visiting a doctor abroad does not only mean spending money but also time. But in our country, visiting doctors is like looking for fortune tellers. So, I don’t have any trust in them,” he said.
“My daughter was pregnant and experienced cramps. A local doctor said she had cervical tumors and a cervical surgery had to be performed otherwise it would harm her. She decided to go to a hospital in Thailand. The doctor there said the tumors were normal and as the baby grows, the tumors will disappear,” he said.
Ly Pon also complained about the price of hospital rooms in Cambodia, ranging from $35 to $75 a night or higher.
On social media, netizens criticized public hospital medical staff whom they said lacked responsibilities and were negligent.
A Facebook user named Zey LeakII posted a long status on May 8, 2024, detailing her late mother’s experience in Battambang Referral Hospital. She passed away on April 22, 2024.
Zey LeakII said her mother went to the hospital after going into labor in the eighth month of pregnancy but the medical staff’s “irresponsibility” and “negligence” led to her death.
“At 11am, I told the medical staff about my mother’s symptoms. She was in slight pain and was about to deliver. A medical staff gave me two pills to pass to her but they were not effective because she was still in pain. I went back to the staff and he shouted at me. He was not aware of my mother’s pregnancy. I was wondering why the medical staff did not check the patient’s documents before giving the medicine.”
Another Facebook user, Sreypich Thou, posted a status on January 26, 2024, alleging that the “Khmer-Soviet Friendship Hospital is killing my father”. She said her father fell unconscious and was sent to the hospital but there were not many medical staff. Her father was kept in the emergency room and the family had to settle the fees for his treatment in advance.
She added that the process of issuing discharge documents also took a long time. They wanted to take him to Vietnam but at 8am the next day, her father passed away. The hospital ambulance fees were two times higher than outside, she said.
Similarly, Hem Vanna, who lives in Phnom Penh, said the treatment quality in local hospitals “does not meet the standard” and “cannot be trusted”. Owing to limited choices, her family decided to seek treatment abroad.
“The treatment costs in hospitals in neighboring countries were acceptable while the recovery rate was fast,” she said.
Separately, a midwife in a private clinic, Doeum Angkrong, in Kampong Speu province allegedly cut a woman’s gut while trying to “vacuum” her uterus after an abortion.
Meanwhile, Japanese hospital Sun Rise, which has operated in Cambodia since 2016 released a report based on their observations of Cambodians who sought international medical treatment. It said 210,000 Cambodians sought treatment in Vietnam, Thailand and Singapore each year. Of that, 76% of Cambodians visited Vietnamese hospitals, Thai hospitals (19%) and Singapore (3%).
The hospital stated that wealthy Cambodians often went to Singapore for medical treatment while Vietnam and Thailand were popular among middle-income people. Local hospitals continue to receive lower income families and some middle income individuals.
However, former Health Minister Mam Bunheng denied the report at the time, saying that only 1% of Cambodians were treated overseas.
He admitted that the quality of local doctors’ treatment in Cambodia “has yet to meet people’s expectations”, but the local medical service played a very important role in people’s welfare.
In March this year, Prime Minister Hun Manet said Cambodia has improved the health system in terms of profession and medical equipment, and modernized the sector. He also pointed out that people still favored local treatment, which was reflected by the number of people seeking treatment in local facilities. He said the figure was higher than those going abroad.
“Some said Cambodia keeps improving its health system but people go abroad for medical treatment. I can say the percentage of people seeking treatment abroad was small as our local hospitals hosted millions of patients each year,” PM said.
Ly Sovann, spokesperson of the Ministry of Health, acknowledged that there were “some” hospital staff, such as receptionists who might not perform their duty well and might use “strong words” on patients at times. But, doctors or nurses performed their duties ethically.
“The ministry issues guidelines for medical doctors and nurses to observe ethics in their profession. Medical staff perform their duty well. Only some receptionists may be in bad form. Public hospitals are full of patients,” he said.
That being said, there is room for improvement in some parts of the country. People can report any medical staff to the ministry by sending a letter and naming the medical staff in the feedback box in each hospital, Sovann added.
Note: This article was translated from a Khmer article: https://khmer.cambojanews.com/some-patients-go-abroad-for-medical-treatment-and-health-check/
