Former Rural Doctors Society leader, Dr Supat Hasuwannakit, has urged the Public Health Ministry to explain the alleged spending of at least 50 million baht on policy promotion events.
Dr Supat, now an adviser to the House committee on political development, mass communications and public participation, said information he had obtained suggested possible irregularities in the use of healthcare budgets for ministry publicity campaigns.
He alleged that at least 50 million baht had been spent on what he described as unnecessary events promoting politically driven policies, including free kidney dialysis, the Mor Prom application and health volunteer campaigns.
Dr Supat claimed the funding came from the universal healthcare scheme budget despite hospitals facing financial difficulties. He said several hospital directors had told him they were asked to allocate scheme funds for specific procurement contracts with event organisers.
He also raised concerns about possible financial deductions benefiting certain groups and called on the ministry to disclose details of the spending. He said the ministry should demonstrate its commitment to transparency, good governance and anti-corruption measures.
“We have seen this problem since the ministry’s free cannabis policy. The signs of irregularities have become clearer,” Dr Supat said.
He said he would ask the House committee overseeing budget expenditure to summon ministry representatives to provide information, adding that further scrutiny could uncover additional details. Dr Supat also questioned whether hospitals’ financial difficulties were linked to poor budget management, noting that the ministry receives more than 170 billion baht a year, excluding the more than 270 billion baht allocated through the universal healthcare scheme.