Arkhom Praditsuwan

Arkhom Praditsuwan, director of the department’s Bureau of Sanatorium and Art of Healing, dismissed a report that it had already taken action against Praram 2 Hospital.

He said officials would soon consult experts from the Thai College of Emergency Physicians, the National Institute for Emergency Medicine and the Medical Council of Thailand in a bid to determine whether staff at Praram 2 had met emergency-medicine standards.

The evidence gathered and expert opinions would be forwarded to a medical ethics sub-committee to decide if any punishment is warranted and, if so, what it should be, Arkhom said.

“This department, as the law-upholding authority, must ensure justice for both sides, so we have to be thorough in our investigation,” he said. “We can’t just make a decision under pressure from society. We must consider all the evidence and facts.”