A man who parked his pickup truck behind an ambulance is accused of disrupting the emergency transfer of a critically ill patient at Plaipraya Hospital in Krabi province. The patient later died from respiratory failure.
The family in the pickup was transporting their mother, who was conscious and responsive but suffering from dizziness.
The hospital in Plai Phraya district issued a statement on Saturday to express condolences to the deceased and explain the incident, which took place on Thursday, Oct 16.
At 11.10pm, medical staff, stretcher personnel and security officers were actively providing emergency care to a male patient suffering from acute myocardial infarction and respiratory failure, which required intubation, the statement said.
The patient was prepared for transfer to Krabi Hospital, which is a referral facility with greater treatment capacity.
‘At 11.15pm, a brown Toyota pickup truck was parked closely behind the designated ambulance, blocking its rear door,’ it said. ‘The vehicle was transporting another woman patient, 69.’
The relatives wheeled her into the emergency room and encountered the head nurse, who was preparing documents and working on the transfer of the critical patient, the hospital said.
The nurse explained the situation to the relatives and asked them to wait for a moment, providing a bed for the patient and taking notes about her medical history. ‘However, they complained with loud voices about the lack of immediate attention for their mother,’ the hospital’s statement said. (Story continues below)
When the critical patient was about to board the ambulance, staff discovered the truck was still obstructing their way. They requested the driver to move the vehicle, but he did not cooperate. ‘The truck owner continued to angrily complain about the lack of service,’ the hospital said.
‘The family of the critical patient then went on their knees in tears, pleading with the driver to move the truck.’
Despite their pleas, the other party continued to argue with staff for some time before eventually moving the vehicle, allowing the transportation to Krabi Hospital, the statement said.
However, the critical patient, who was the father of the family, later passed away on the same night. For the patient transported in the pickup, doctors provided emergency care until her condition improved and prescribed medication for home use.
The hospital said the actions of the truck owner ‘obstructed urgent duties of the medical team’.
According to Thairath Online, a daughter of the deceased, identified as Pattaraporn Panich, 29, said she believed that if the transfer had been a bit faster, her father might have survived as every minute is critical for a heart disease patient.
The family is not pursuing any legal action at this time and will decide whether to do so after the father’s funeral. Plai Phraya Hospital director Dr Natthapong Doo-Ngam shared with Thairath that the hospital has assigned its legal team to gather evidence and consider reporting to police on Monday. The details have not yet been finalised, he said.
It was found that the truck driver was an employee of Charoen Pokphand Foods Plc.
‘After reviewing the surrounding facts, the company determined that the employee’s behaviour did not align with the organisation’s values and operational principles,” the company said in a statement issued on Sunday. “Therefore, the company has decided to stop employing the individual involved.”