The Public Health Ministry has launched a new community nursing volunteer programme aimed at strengthening primary healthcare services.
Public Health Minister Pattana Phromphat said the programme is designed to improve access to healthcare from the household level by linking communities with healthcare facilities and multidisciplinary teams.
"ASPs are not here to replace professional personnel but to strengthen the healthcare system," he said at the programme's launch.
The volunteers will focus on four priority groups: elderly and dependent people, patients with chronic non-communicable diseases, mothers and children, and people with mental health problems or those who have completed drug rehabilitation.
Permanent secretary for public health Somruek Chungsaman said Thailand faces growing healthcare challenges, including an ageing population, rising non-communicable diseases and increasing mental health needs, while professional nurses at subdistrict health-promoting hospitals remain overstretched.
In the initial phase, 7,256 volunteers -- one for each subdistrict in 76 provinces -- will undergo training before providing patient monitoring, rehabilitation support, referral coordination and health data recording under the supervision of healthcare professionals.
Applicants must be Thai nationals aged at least 20 who meet educational and residency requirements. Applications end on Sunday at provincial public health offices, where they can be made without charge. The programme drew criticism from Thai Pakdee Party leader and party-list MP Dr Warong Dechgitvigrom, who argued it duplicates the work of about one million village health volunteers nationwide.
He questioned spending more than 1.3 billion baht a year on the scheme instead of appointing unemployed nurses and public health personnel.
