Having lived through the Covid-19 pandemic for two years, the public expects authorities to handle the developing situation with a steady hand.
However, the recent policy flip-flop regarding Universal Coverage for Emergency Patients (Ucep) showed officials responsible for the nation's Covid policies have not learned from their past mistakes.
Two years may have passed, but it is clear that both officials and politicians in government still lack the necessary communication and coordination skills.
About two weeks ago, the Ministry of Public Health and the National Health Security Office (NHSO) announced the scheme will no longer cover non-critical Covid patients, starting March 1.
It was reported that the government had spent over 101 billion baht on the scheme, almost 90% of which were used to cover the treatment costs of Covid patients with mild symptoms -- people who could have recovered at home or in community isolation.
For the past two years, Ucep has allowed all Covid patients to seek treatment at any medical facility they wish, free of charge for three days, after which they are transferred to a hospital where their state welfare and/or health insurance scheme is registered.
But recently, the public was told that from March onwards, the scheme will only cover critical cases, and those with mild symptoms will have to use other health or welfare schemes to cover their treatment cost, should they decide to go to a hospital.
The change was widely slammed as ill-timed, as no one could grasp why authorities would pull the plug on the scheme right when Covid-19 is making a comeback. Yesterday the number of cases rose to 21,332 -- a big leap from the 18,363 cases reported just one day before.
The announcement set off a collective panic, with some hospitals and hospitels which received Ucep subsidies turning away patients to ensure they only admit patients that will be covered by the scheme.
Ambulances and medical volunteers are reluctant to receive patients as they had been instructed to handle only patients with severe symptoms.
There were even reports of patients who were forced to live in temples after failing to find somewhere to take them in.
Since the latest wave began, the Public Health Ministry's 1330 hotline has been constantly busy. On Tuesday alone, it was reported that 50,000 people called in.
On Tuesday, the cabinet made another policy u-turn and postponed the end of the scheme.
The government said the Ucep scheme will only be scrapped once authorities come up with clear guidelines for admissions and coverage.
While it is understandable why Ucep must eventually end, authorities cannot just flip off the switch and leave patients to figure things out on their own.
To prevent chaos, the Ministry of Public Health must clearly explain which patients are eligible for hospital admission.
It needs to make sure all communication channels, especially its hotlines and the Mor Prom ChatBot, are always available for patients to seek help.
The authority must also prepare medicine, ATKs and medical volunteers, ambulances or even isolation space for patients who cannot stay at home.
In this climate, no one can afford to be complacent.
Without proper management, the condition of some patients with mild symptoms might worsen, which may cause further contagion which could ultimately strain the entire public health system, not to mention put lives at risk.
