Thailand’s 191 emergency call centre has started accepting calls from people infected with COVID-19 who need to be admitted to hospital, to ease the burden on the 1168, 1669 and 1330 hotline services of the Public Health Ministry.

Pol Gen Suwat Chaengyodsuk, the national police chief, told a news conference today (Wednesday) that the 191 call centre has 1,200 lines and is manned around the clock.

Each operator receiving the calls is equipped with a standard set of questions, formulated by the Disease Control Department, which the callers need to answer. The information will automatically be sent, via the Government Big Data Institute (GBDi) system, to 1668 or 1669 hotline service centres for processing.

In case of provinces outside Bangkok, operators at the 191 call centre will pass the information to the respective provincial health office, or to the 1669 call centre, for processing.

For emergency cases, Pol Gen Suwat said that the 191 call centre will coordinate with the Erawan Centre to arrange for an ambulance to take emergency patients to hospital.

Currently, over 500 COVID-19 patients are being treated at the Police General Hospital and in field hospitals, said Pol Lt-Gen Soponrach Singhacharu, chief doctor at the Police General Hospital, adding that medical personnel there are stretched,because some of them are infected and/or quarantined.