Khon Kaen University to set up medical hub

BANGKOK, February 5 (TNA) - A plan is made to establish a medical hub at Khon Kaen University and it will be submitted for a cabinet consideration during its meeting in Udon Thani province between February 21-22, said Deputy Public Health Minister Dr. Surawit Khonsomboon on Sunday. Speaking after holding a meeting with lecturers of Khon Kaen University’s Faculty of Medical Science, Dr. Surawit said total investment cost for building the medical hub is four billion baht. Out of the total cost, Srinakarin Hospital will pay about 1.6 billion baht while the rest will be financed by the government. A similar medical hub is now set up at Mahidol University which provides treatment in the Central region while in the North it will be established at Chiang Mai University and in the South at Prince of Songkla University in Hat Yai district. Dr. Surawit said there are about 23 million people living in the Northeast and the number of population is more than other regions. Srinakarin Hospital at Khon Kaen University is prepared to take care of patients and it will be unnecessary to transfer patients to Bangkok for treatment once the medical hub is constructed. Sick people living in Myanmar, southern China, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam also want to receive treatment at Khon Kaen University and the number should increase after the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) is implemented in 2015, he added. (TNA)