UNHCR’s Partner COERR, through the Bangkok Refugee Centre (BRC), continued to serve as an entry point for all medical referrals to secondary and tertiary care in line with the revised UNHCR Thailand’s Health Referral Guidelines for Refugees and Other People of Concern in Bangkok effective October 2017. The BRC Health Information and Referral Desk continued to provide information to refugees and asylum-seekers on access to other available services including referrals to the Tzu Chi Foundation Clinic (not financed by UNHCR), which is open every last Sunday of the month to provide free primary healthcare to refugees and asylum-seekers. Due to this provision of information on free and affordable health services over the years, an increasing number of People of concern are now able to approach health institutions on their own and therefore required less assistance from the BRC. This led to a reduction in the average number of visitors to the BRC Health Information and Referral Desk per day from close to 15 in 2016 to no more than 10 in 2017, and the reduction of the total number of cases receiving financial support from 2,521 in 2016 to 2,314 in 2017 (a decrease of 8 per cent). Out of the 2,314 cases receiving financial support, 1,932 were referred to Out-Patient Departments (OPD), while 382 were referred to In-Patient Departments (IPD) for secondary and tertiary medical care at various public hospitals. The number of complicated and serious medical cases reviewed by the Referral Healthcare Review Panel (RHRP) in 2017 remained at the same level as in 2016 at 227 (less than 1 per cent increase from 2016), although the approval rate grew higher at 57 per cent (12 per cent increase from 2016) following a complete review of the Referral Health Care Review Panel, its Terms of Reference (TORs) and related principles and guidelines. The child mortality rate for under five years remained at 0 per 1,000/month, whereas the number of children aged 0-5 who received childhood immunization at the hospitals or public health centres decreased from 124 in 2016 to 106 in 2017 (a decrease of 14.5 per cent), due to the lower number of newborns in 2017 compared to 2016 (20 per cent decrease from 2016) and the fact that free vaccinations are now available at the Tzu Chi Foundation Clinic on a bi-monthly basis. Nevertheless, nearly 100 per cent of the parents who approached the BRC were assisted to receive vaccinations for their children. It is not known if other children who did not approach BRC have been vaccinated before their arrival in Thailand. However, through home and community visits, BRC continued to provide the information on vaccinations to parents and to remind them to take their children to receive the follow up vaccination at the public health centres within close proximity of their residence so that they are fully vaccinated. All of the 11 refugees diagnosed as HIV positive receive treatment as per Thailand’s National Guidelines on HIV/AIDS Diagnosis and Treatment. Psychosocial activities and/or counselling were provided to 291 People of concern in need of psychosocial support, compared to 287 in 2016 - an increase of 1 per cent. BRC also accompanied patients to hospitals to consult with psychologists/psychiatrics for further treatment. Psychological sessions were also extended to people of concern detained in the Immigration Detention Centres (IDC) both in Bangkok and Kanchanaburi. Health education messages were regularly exhibited on boards and at the BRC reception area. Moreover, health education on hygiene, disease prevention and reproductive health was provided to refugee and asylum seeker students enrolled in Thai intensive classes. Male condoms were made available free of charge at the BRC with more than 4,000 distributed in 2017.
