Supporters of Dr. Supat Hasuwannakit showed up at Chana District Hospital in Thailand’s Songkhla province on Wednesday morning to offer moral support, after they learned that he might be transferred out of the district.
Leader of the group of supporters, Banchong Nasae, advisor to the Thai Sea Watch Association, said they will protest against the transfer until there is a clear explanation from Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul or Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha.
In his capacity as the president of the Rural Doctors Society, Dr. Supat, director of Chana District Hospital, has been actively involved in the social and environmental activities of the local people, who are fighting to protect their communities against development projects which may threaten their livelihoods, such as the Chana industrial estate project.
During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, Dr. Supat mobilised about 60 rural doctors to help ease the workload of medical personnel at state hospitals in Bangkok, as they became overwhelmed with patients.
