PGH neurosurgeon asks why he was summoned to testify in Thaksin’s case

A neurosurgeon at the Police General Hospital (PGH), Pol Col Chana Chongchokdee MD, who was the doctor in charge of treating former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, asked the Supreme Court, during a hearing on Friday, why he had to appear before the court for treating the patient.

Dr. Chana was one of six PGH doctors who testified to the Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Political Office Holders on Friday, in the case concerning Thaksin’s stay at the PGH, without spending a day of his prison sentence behind bars.

The other five doctors were:

• Former PGH chief doctor, who is currently the assistant national police chief, Pol Lt-Gen Sophonrat Singhacharu MD
• Incumbent PGH chief doctor, Pol Lt-Gen Thaveesilp Wechvitarn MD
• Pol Maj-Gen Samart Muangsiri MD, medical team member
• Pol Maj-Gen Suparuek Pattanapreechakul MD, medical team member
• Pol Maj-Gen Suraphol Kateprayoon MD, medical team member

Dr. Warong Dechgitvigrom, chairman of the Thai Pakdee party, noted in his Facebook post today that Dr. Sophonrat, Dr. Thaveesilp and Dr. Chana are all neurosurgeons, while Dr. Samart and Dr. Suraphol are orthopedics specialists, but Thaksin was reported to be suffering from heart disease.

When Thaksin was transferred from the Corrections Department’s hospital to the PGH, during the night of August 22nd/23rd, 2023, after reportedly suffering from chest pain, breathing difficulties and high blood pressure, Dr. Chana, who was in charge of treating him, administered nasal spray and other medication to reduce blood pressure. A heart surgeon came to see him on August 24th and, by that time, his condition had already improved, according to Dr. Warong.

He also observed that is there is no “doctor’s order note”, a must in medical practice, in all the medical documents sent to the court by the PGH, only “progress notes”.

Additionally, of the 26 expenditure receipts sent to the court by the PGH, 17 concern room charges during the six-month stay and only nine relate to medications.

Dr. Warong said he has sympathy for Dr. Chana, for being dragged into a controversy for which he bears no fault.

Before the hearing yesterday, former Democrat MP Charnchai Isarasenarak showed Thaksin’s medical expense receipts to the media, covering September 4th, 2023 until February 19th last year, amounting to about 2.4 million baht.

The receipts from August 23rd to September 4th, 2023, show total expenses of 140,000 baht, covering room, diagnosis and nursing expenses, without any expenditure on medication at a time when Thaksin was reported to be critically ill, Charnchai noted.

Both the former and incumbent PGH chief doctors claim that they bought medicines from outside the hospital and, therefore, none of those medication expenses are shown in the hospital’s receipts, said the former Democrat, who admitted that this was very abnormal.