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Poor left out

Published: 27 Jan 2013 at 00.00
Newspaper section: News

The report in Saturday's Business section that Bangkok Dusit Medical Services Plc (BGH), a private group, has acquired a hospital in the Northeast and is looking to expand its hospital acquisitions there is not as positive as it first seems.

The Northeast is an area where the government should expand its health services and improve conditions at government hospitals. The high cost of medical treatment in the private hospital sector would benefit only those who can afford it while leaving the rest standing in the cold unable to pay the higher costs.

Udon Thani is already feeling the pinch. Every time another hospital is acquired by the BGH, renovations take place to enhance the appearance of the hospital and costs go way up, but there seems little improvement in the quality of medical treatment. The recent cartoon showing hospitals gobbling up money sums up the situation nicely.

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christianl
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Discussion 9 : 27 Jan 2013 at 19.549
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bereleh

There is nothing stopping the government from improving the quality at the public hospitals in the north east, or anywhere else for that matter. It's not like every time a PRIVATE (understand the word?) hospital chain invests in a hospital a public one is being closed. One thing does not cancel out the other. Or is it that some people in the NE now can use their private (that word again) money to use a better quality hospital, and some people can't? You prefer that everybody must use the public hospitals?
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justfacts
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Discussion 8 : 27 Jan 2013 at 13.498
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Eric, your last line ". He is no different from most of people" of all the nonsense you have written over the years and for some reason unknown to most gets published...This is beyond a doubt the worst yet.
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jck
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Discussion 7 : 27 Jan 2013 at 13.057
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Eric, your comments are well taken. However, the biggest difference between the average sports cheat and Armstrong is that Armstrong in public vehemently denied doping for over a decade. And not only that but he did his best to destroy the reputations and finances of his critics who proved to be correct. His body language in the Oprah interview smacked of arrogance and yet more untruths. Any possibility of him returning to competitive sports would be a travesty.
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dao
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Discussion 6 : 27 Jan 2013 at 12.166
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Why is it no one says anything about the doping agency that allowed this to happen for almost a decade ? 7 titles on banned substances and hundreds if not thousands of tests .Why was it allowed to go on .The doping agency catches him after his teammates admit doping in his retirement .What is the point of having a doping agency if they cant catch any one ?
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Renaissance
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Discussion 5 : 27 Jan 2013 at 10.385
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Eric, the strong reaction to Lance is a sign of the times. People are getting tired of cheating and corruption. We must send a strong message to cheaters and the corrupt that society won't tolerate their actions anymore. These are early days in this reaction. Public anger and scrutiny of politicians and officials will certainly increase with the result that fewer people will want to become a politician because there will no personal gain. Notably the Somali pirate leaders are giving up piracy for this reason. We need much more public shaming of politicians and officials, and more reporting about public funds and lottery money going missing.
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dao
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Discussion 4 : 27 Jan 2013 at 10.064
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Lance didnt engineer his own heroism .His sponsors and charities who were quick to cash in on him riding a bike did .I know he isn't a victim but his charges should be treated the same as any other .Stop putting him on a pedestal .
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bangmodken
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Discussion 3 : 27 Jan 2013 at 09.583
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D1 : Excellent comment,Khun Eggmeng. Sports used to be about human endurance,fair play and honour,untill the cheaters(drug addicts),the doctors(drug dealers) and the pharmacies(drug producers)took over and made it a freak show for personal profit.
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OldThaiHand
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Discussion 2 : 27 Jan 2013 at 09.392
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I'm kind of with Eric on this. Is Lance Armstrong all the things people say he is is? Probably.

But, his rampant vilification has more to do with the vast majority of people who are so weak-minded, so insecure and so unaccomplished, that they expect too much from their heroes, from whom they demand the impossible.

In today's world with celebrity, quasi-celebrity and even non-celebrity under over-mediated, microscopic scrutiny, the pressure to stand out, at all costs is incredible. Armstrong is merely a product of his age.

People who demand the impossible are happily duped, so long as they remain ignorant of reality.
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Eggmeng
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Discussion 1 : 27 Jan 2013 at 07.511
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Lance Armstrong is a determined man who cleverly used PR and a best-selling book to further aggrandize his already considerable achievements, while seeking and accepting sympathy and admiration for his struggle with cancer.

Now we know he engineered his own heroism largely for his own benefit, so when he fell from grace hard, it was because his dishonesty was of a special kind. He profoundly disappointed millions, many of whom were not even sports fans.

That is the difference Eric, between Armstrong and your average sports doper.
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