Quick answer
Pattaya has three private hospitals with 24-hour emergency rooms and English-speaking staff, Bangkok Hospital Pattaya (call 1719), Pattaya Memorial and Pattaya International, plus two public hospitals, Pattaya City Hospital and Banglamung Hospital. A private consultation costs 1,000 to 3,000 THB and a clinic visit 300 to 800 THB. For an ambulance anywhere, call 1669. Carry travel insurance with direct billing.
Medical care in Pattaya is good and easy to reach. The largest private hospital stands on Sukhumvit Road in North Pattaya, two smaller private hospitals sit in the centre a few minutes from Beach Road, and the public hospitals are on Soi Buakhao and in Naklua. Most visitors only ever need a pharmacy; the notes below tell you where to go when you need more than that.
Which hospital should you choose in Pattaya?
| Hospital | Type | Address | Phone | Go there for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bangkok Hospital Pattaya | Private | 301 Moo 6, Sukhumvit Road, North Pattaya | 1719 or 038 259 999 | Serious illness, trauma, heart, surgery, children |
| Pattaya Memorial Hospital | Private | 328/1 Moo 9, Central Pattaya Road | 038 488 777 | General medicine and everyday problems at lower private prices |
| Pattaya International Hospital | Private | 255/4 Moo 9, Soi 4, between Beach Road and Second Road | 038 428 374 | Walk-in care, minor injuries, close to North Pattaya hotels |
| Pattaya City Hospital | Public, run by the city | 261/40 Soi Buakhao | via 1669 | Low-cost consultations in the centre |
| Banglamung Hospital (Pattaya Patamakun Hospital) | Public, Ministry of Public Health | 669 Moo 5, Naklua | via 1669 | Low-cost care; the area's main government hospital |
Bangkok Hospital Pattaya
This is the largest and best-equipped hospital on the eastern seaboard, part of the BDMS group and accredited by Joint Commission International. It has a trauma centre, heart, brain and orthopaedic centres, intensive care and a children's department, and it is where other hospitals refer complex cases. Its international desk provides interpreters in more than 20 languages, including Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Japanese and Russian, liaises with embassies and insurers, and sends a doctor to hotel rooms around the clock. It is also the most expensive option.
Pattaya Memorial Hospital
On Central Pattaya Road, a few minutes from the beach, Pattaya Memorial has served the city for more than 45 years. It covers internal medicine, surgery, orthopaedics, paediatrics, obstetrics, cardiology, dental care, an intensive care unit and an emergency department, at prices below those of Bangkok Hospital Pattaya. It works with Thai and international insurers including AXA, Allianz, AIA and Pacific Cross.
Pattaya International Hospital
A compact private hospital on Soi 4, in the lanes between Beach Road and Second Road in North Pattaya. It is used to walk-in foreign patients, runs a 24-hour emergency room, and is the quickest option on foot from many North Pattaya hotels for a cut, a sprain, an ear infection or a fever.
Pattaya City Hospital and Banglamung Hospital
The two public hospitals treat foreigners and charge a fraction of private prices: a consultation with basic tests comes to a few hundred baht. The trade-off is time and language. Expect a queue of several hours for non-urgent care, a ticket system in Thai and nurses with limited English, although most doctors speak it well. Go early in the morning and take a Thai speaker if you can. Banglamung Hospital, in Naklua, now carries the official name Pattaya Patamakun Hospital; taxi drivers and most maps still use the old one. Pattaya City Hospital is on Soi Buakhao in the centre.
What do you do in a medical emergency?
- Call 1669, the national medical emergency number. It is free, answers 24 hours a day and sends the nearest ambulance.
- To be taken to a private hospital, call it directly: 1719 reaches Bangkok Hospital Pattaya from any Thai phone, and its ambulances carry a nurse or doctor.
- If you can move safely, a Bolt or Grab car to the emergency room is often faster than waiting. All three private hospitals receive emergencies 24 hours a day.
- Take your passport and your insurance details. Phone your insurer's assistance line as soon as you can: it opens the file that lets the hospital bill the insurer.
The Tourist Police on 1155 help with translation and with road accidents. The full list of numbers is in Pattaya scams and safety.
How much does it cost to see a doctor?
| Service | Typical cost (THB) |
|---|---|
| Walk-in clinic consultation | 300 to 800 |
| Private doctor's clinic, with medicine | 500 to 1,500 |
| Outpatient consultation, private hospital | 1,000 to 3,000 |
| Emergency room visit, private hospital | 3,000 to 10,000 |
| Consultation, public hospital | a few hundred |
| Dental check-up and cleaning | 500 to 1,000 |
| Filling | 500 to 2,000 |
| Root canal treatment | 5,000 to 15,000 |
| Crown | 8,000 to 15,000 |
A night in a private room, surgery or intensive care moves the bill into tens or hundreds of thousands of baht, which is what insurance is for. Hospitals ask for a deposit or an insurer's guarantee before admission.
What can pharmacies and dental clinics handle?
Pharmacies are everywhere: Boots and Watsons in the malls, Fascino and independent pharmacies on every main road, many open until late in the evening. A qualified pharmacist, identified by a white coat and a licence on the wall, advises free of charge and sells remedies for stomach upsets, colds, allergies, sunburn, insect bites and minor wounds, along with oral rehydration salts and sunscreen. Strong painkillers, sleeping tablets and other controlled medicines require a doctor's prescription. Bring regular medication from home in its original packaging with a copy of the prescription.
Dental clinics line Second Road, Central Pattaya Road and Thappraya Road, and the private hospitals have their own dental centres. Check-ups, cleaning, fillings and emergency treatment for a broken tooth are available the same or next day. For crowns and implants, which need several visits, plan the treatment at the start of your stay.
Do you need travel insurance, and how does direct billing work?
Yes. Private hospitals in Thailand charge every patient in full, and a road accident with surgery can cost more than the holiday. Buy a policy before you leave home with medical cover of at least 100,000 US dollars, medical evacuation and a 24-hour assistance line, and check that it covers riding a scooter if you intend to rent one: insurers refuse claims from riders without a valid motorcycle licence or helmet.
Direct billing means the hospital sends the bill to your insurer instead of to you. Bangkok Hospital Pattaya has agreements with a very large number of international insurers, and Pattaya Memorial and Pattaya International work with many. For a hospital stay, the insurer issues a guarantee of payment after you or the hospital call the assistance line. For outpatient visits and at clinics, you normally pay by card and claim back: keep the itemised receipt and the medical certificate, which the cashier issues on request.
Which vaccinations and health risks should you know about?
No vaccination is required to enter Thailand unless you arrive from a country with yellow fever. Health authorities recommend being up to date with routine vaccines and, for most travellers, hepatitis A and typhoid; hepatitis B, rabies and Japanese encephalitis are worth discussing with a travel clinic for long stays. There is no malaria transmission in Pattaya.
- Heat: temperatures sit above 30°C most of the year. Drink at least two litres of water a day, stay in the shade between 11:00 and 15:00, and treat dizziness, headache and nausea as heat exhaustion: rest in air conditioning and rehydrate. Confusion or hot, dry skin is an emergency.
- Dengue: the mosquito-borne fever occurs all year and peaks in the rainy season from May to October. Use repellent with at least 20 percent DEET in the daytime and at dusk, and see a doctor for a high fever with severe headache or joint pain. Take paracetamol, not aspirin or ibuprofen, until dengue is ruled out.
- Stomach bugs: drink bottled or filtered water, eat at busy stalls where food is cooked to order, and wash your hands. Most upsets pass in a day or two with rest and oral rehydration salts. See a doctor if it lasts more than three days or comes with blood or a high fever.
- Animal bites: a bite or scratch from a dog, cat or monkey means washing the wound with soap for several minutes and going to a hospital the same day for rabies treatment.
Seasons and temperatures are set out in the best time to visit Pattaya, and practical matters for residents in living in Pattaya.
Frequently asked
- Do doctors in Pattaya speak English?
- In the private hospitals, yes: doctors trained in English and reception, nursing and billing staff at Bangkok Hospital Pattaya, Pattaya Memorial and Pattaya International work with foreign patients every day. Bangkok Hospital Pattaya adds interpreters for more than 20 languages. In the public hospitals most doctors speak English but registration and nursing staff often do not, so a Thai-speaking companion or a translation app saves time.
- Is there a hospital on Jomtien side?
- Yes. Jomtien Hospital is a private hospital on Sukhumvit Road, just south of the South Pattaya Road junction, with a 24-hour emergency room and an after-hours clinic; its number is 033 125 999. It is the nearest emergency department for hotels in Jomtien and Na Jomtien. For complex cases patients are transferred to Bangkok Hospital Pattaya, further north on the same road.
- Can you get a medical certificate for a driving licence or a fit-to-fly letter?
- Yes. Any clinic or hospital issues the medical certificate required by the Department of Land Transport after a brief examination, for 150 to 300 THB at a clinic and more at a private hospital; it is valid for 30 days. Fit-to-fly letters and insurance medical reports are issued by the treating doctor at the hospital where you were seen. Ask at the cashier before you leave.
