Bangkok's Hua Chiew Hospital, owned by the Poh Teck Tung Foundation, will focus on medical tourism and specialisation in a bid to become a leading medium-sized hospital.
A budget of 500 million baht has been set for 2014-16 to build a seven-storey building for patients under the Social Security Fund and buy equipment to support the opening of a cardiac catheterisation centre this year.
Chief executive Suthee Ketsiri said the hospital also planned to open vascular intervention and stroke units and a newborn referral centre next year in order to strengthen its services covering all medical specialisations.
Presently, it has various bone and joint, ear, nose and throat, physician, dermatology, eye and dental clinics.
"Our goal is to provide a hospital service with about 500 beds in the next seven years, up from 338 beds now. Our hospital is also facing a nursing shortage," he said.
Mr Suthee predicts Hua Chiew will be short of 100 nurses in the next two years, so it is collaborating with Hua Chiew University to produce more nurses under its scholarship programme.
Additionally, the hospital has brought in information technology to enhance treatment efficiency and accuracy.
Hua Chiew Hospital divides its patients into two groups — those under the Social Security Fund; and patients in all income brackets who pay for treatment on their own.
It is one of Bangkok's well-known non-profit hospitals, similar to Bangkok Christian, Mission and Camillian hospitals, which charge fees 20-30% lower than private hospitals.
Foreign patient numbers almost doubled to 4,400 last month from 2,700 in 2009, with most of them coming from Asia, Europe and the US.
The sharp rise stems from the hospital's renovation, service quality improvement and lower prices compared with other hospitals with the same level of service.
The number of foreign patients is likely to grow 10% annually.