Vajira Hospital resumes out-patient services today

The state-run Vajira Hospital, which was abruptly closed to all out-patients after a massive sinkhole appeared in Samsen Road in front of the hospital, will resume out-patients services on Friday.

Assistant Professor Dr. Jakravoot Maneerit, dean of the Faculty of Medicine of Navamindradhiraj University, said today that all the buildings at the hospital, including the Dipangkorn Rasmijoti and Petcharat buildings, are safe and in good shape.

The Dipangkorn Rasmijoti building is nine-storey building with six floors above ground and three below.

It sits on concrete pilings embedded 50 metres into the ground and is protected by a 24-metre deep underground wall, making the structure strong enough to be unaffected by nearby subsidence, according to Dr. Jakravoot.

He also said that the 19-storey Petcharat building was constructed to the same standard and, therefore, is unaffected.

He explained that the hospital did not suspend out-patient services because the hospital’s buildings were unsafe, but to facilitate the movement of heavy machinery into the area by MRTA officials, which may cause traffic congestion and adversely impact the roughly 4,000 out-patients who visit the hospital each day.

None of the in-patients were evacuated and only emergency cases were being accepted yesterday and today, he said.