Health System Is Relying on Volunteers to Plug the Gaps

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From Time

A volunteer from the 'Saimai Will Survive' group in protective gear talks to a woman infected with COVID-19 on her condition while checking her blood pressure and blood oxygen levels Friday, July 23, 2021, in Bangkok, Thailand.

AP Photo/Tassanee

 

BANGKOK, Thailand — As Thailand‘s medical system struggles beneath a surge of coronavirus cases, ordinary people are helping to plug the gaps, risking their own health to bring care and supplies to often terrified, exhausted patients who’ve fallen through the cracks.

In the Samai area of Bangkok, Ekapob Laungprasert’s team heads out for another weekend on the front lines of a crisis.

His volunteer group, Samai Will Survive, has been working around the clock, responding to about a hundred SOS calls daily from desperate COVID-19 patients unable to get the help they need.

“We realize how hard working and how tired doctors and nurses are,” says the 38-year-old businessman. “What we are trying to do today is to help relieve some of the burden. Before, all cases must go to the hospital, so today there are no hospital beds. So we volunteer to help out.”

It’s not long before they’re in action: Malee, a COVID-19 positive woman whose breathing has suddenly worsened. The group, wearing personal protective equipment, delivers oxygen and much-needed reassurance to Malee and her husband, an army officer who also has the virus.

“I lost hope even with the army. I called doctors at field hospitals. All they told me to do was to send information, just send information,” Worawit Srisang said. “I got the same answers everywhere. At least these guys visit us in person. What the patient needs is a chance to see a doctor, not just send information.”

Thailand’s predicament is stark. Around 15,000 new cases are confirmed each day and still more people are getting infected. In Bangkok alone, 20,000 people are waiting for a hospital bed.

So homespun heroes like Ekapob and his group — buying equipment and supplies with public donations — are an essential safety net, gaining crucial time for both patients and a health care system under severe strain.

https://time.com/6083751/thailand-covid-volunteers/