Private institutions generally have higher standards, and one can usually say the more expensive the better. Luxurious hospitalization is available at some private hospitals. It is a custom that when a Thai is hospitalized, family members, friends or a companion stays with the patient most of the time. Rooms in private hospitals usually provide sleeping space for at least one companion per patient. There are usually no set visiting hours and at least in the case of private rooms, there is 24 hour access.
Common opinion is that private hospitals generally require a deposit before admission.
But of course, as provided by law and medical ethics, doctors will attend to any patient in an emergency situation, without asking for money in advance. And the experience of an expatriate member of the editorial staff of this handbook had been quite the opposite of what the Australian-New Zealand Women s Group suggests. To be admitted for delivery at the Sukhumvit Hospital on Sukhumvit Road, neither passport nor a cash deposit was required. Actually, when a few hours after admission the staff s partner approached the cashier with a pocket full of money to make a deposit before what appeared would be a Caesarian birth, the offer of any advance payment was expressly turned down and he was told that a bill would only be made upon checking out - as it later was the case. Private hospitals in Thailand generally accept credit cards in payment of bills and credit card holders will probably never be required to make a deposit.