Critical nurse shortage looms

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HEALTH

Published: 27 Sep 2012 at 00.00
Newspaper section: News

A critical shortage of nurses in state hospitals is looming as hundreds of nurses are expected to look for work overseas when the Asean Economic Community starts in 2015.

This could accentuate a shortage in the public sector, which many nurses have abandoned for higher-paying jobs in private hospitals, said Waraphon Kawiwitthayaphon, the secretary of a nurse shortage monitoring panel under the Thailand Nursing and Midwifery Council.

Many nurses would probably leave Thailand to work for better paying jobs in Singapore when free labour movements are ushered in as part of the AEC, she said.

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pete
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Discussion 3 : 27 Sep 2012 at 09.433
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I am married to a former well qualified nurse. Long hours and low pay at a government hospital and the denial of entry to the Government Pension Fund led her to study English so that she could work in a private hospital where pay and conditions were considerably better; because of her qualifications she had no problem in obtaining employment at a top hospital in Bangkok, which is where we first met. Many of her ex-colleagues have done the same. Until Thailand wakes up and recognises the importance of nurses in government hospitals they will continue to move into the private sector. Come 2015 I suspect many more nursing staff at government hospitals will move to better paying jobs, either within ASEAN countries or the private hospitals in Thailand. What is certain is that qualified nurses from ASEAN countries will not be seeking jobs in Thailand.
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rontorr
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Discussion 2 : 27 Sep 2012 at 09.362
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if you pay and treat them correctly, they will stay
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khunbj
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Discussion 1 : 27 Sep 2012 at 05.451
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Well that is the danger of an open market ... so I guess the hospitals will have to compete to get the nurses, higher salaries, better contracts etc, good for them, they work hard already and deserve more.
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Critical nurse shortage looms | Bangkok Post: news