The Corrections Department plans to expand and upgrade its hospital to "first-class standard", aiming to treat not only prisoners but also the general public.
The department held a joint conference with the Royal Thai Police on Tuesday to reveal a plan to improve "the infrastructure, for greater performance and development of healthcare", which will primarily treat inmates.
The department's deputy director-general Weerakit Harnpariphan said the Central Correctional Hospital has a maximum capacity of 500 beds, with an annual excess of around 1,000 patients who are sent to the Police General Hospital.
Last year, the Central Correctional Hospital handled over 5,000 inmates.
Bangkok has around 20,000 inmates, of whom 10,000 are unidentified nationals, scattered between three prisons in the capital, and they rely on the hospital for all forms of treatment, said Mr Weerakit.
The hospital provides services just like any other hospital, with dentists, haemodialysis machines, ICUs and so forth, he said.
Mr Weerakit elaborated on the plan for the Central Correctional Hospital to offer services to the general public.
"With the extra role of also treating normal civilians, we have urged the Royal Thai Police to help us elevate our hospital to first-class level which will require some subsidies, development and training," he added.
Expanding services to the public would require the hospital to have more medical equipment to handle the expected volume. However, it would also cut the burden on the Police Hospital which treats over 200,000 current and former state officials a year.
Police General Hospital director Pol Lt Gen Witoon Nitiwarangkul said the Royal Thai Police is considering the matter as the plans will not only benefit inmates, but also improve health care for people in the area.
"When it comes to caring for a life, inmates and normal civilians should be treated the same," Pol Lt Gen Witoon said.
He made it clear that the Royal Thai Police will step in to help with improving the infrastructure and quality of services such as providing direct training for nurses and medics from the Central Correctional Hospital alongside officials from the Police Hospital.
"The hospital has plans to create an 'excellence centre' for health care which is a good initiative that will improve many lives," Pol Lt Gen Witoon added.
He said the hospital has the potential to expand its role in a similar fashion to the Police General Hospital which treats both police officials and their family members as well as the general public.
To do so, however, Pol Lt Gen Witoon said some laws need to be amended.
Because the Police Hospital lacks the capability to train its own doctors and nurses due to limited resources, the Royal Thai Police is also currently in talks with Chulabhorn Graduate Institute to provide more personnel for this sector.
"If the Central Correctional Hospital is going to expand, resources can be shared across our hospital and theirs which will improve the correctional hospital's standards as it rises to the new challenge.
"At the same time, the Police General Hospital, which is functioning beyond its capacity, can refer some services," Pol Lt Gen Witoon said.