A Thai woman has gone public with allegations of medical negligence after her late Dutch husband died less than 24 hours after returning home from a heart procedure in Thailand.
Jiranuch, the wife of the deceased man, Richard, posted about the case on Facebook yesterday, June 8. She said Richard had flown from the Netherlands for a health check but died after undergoing treatment at the hospital.
During the checkup, doctors reportedly told Richard that his electrocardiogram (ECG) showed an abnormal heartbeat and that he may have had heart disease. He was advised to ride a bicycle for a stress test.
Richard became tired during the test. Doctors suspected he may have had coronary artery disease and recommended admission to the ICU for a contrast dye examination.
The result showed that three coronary arteries were narrowed. Doctors told Richard the condition was very dangerous and advised him to undergo balloon angioplasty on two arteries immediately.
Jiranuch said the procedure was carried out without consultation with her or Richard’s children. She only found out after the two arteries had already been treated, and no relative had signed to acknowledge the procedure.
At the time, she felt relieved that the hospital had found the cause of Richard’s condition. She believed doctors had decided that balloon angioplasty was the best treatment.
Richard stayed in the hospital for one night and returned home the next day. Jiranuch later spoke with the attending doctor and asked how long Richard could wait before treating the third artery.
The doctor allegedly told her he had to be treated urgently because the condition was dangerous, but advised Richard to return after three days so the contrast dye from the earlier procedure could fade. Richard told his wife he trusted the hospital and wanted the third artery treated there.
When Jiranuch asked about the risk, she said the doctor told her it was almost risk-free, with only a 0.05% risk, and said Richard would need only one night in hospital.
Richard died less than 24 hours after returning home.
Jiranuch said she paid almost 800,000 baht, hoping the treatment would save Richard’s life. She said she had stayed silent because she believed she would receive fairness from the doctors involved.
She later claimed the doctors did not accept her allegation that there had been a misdiagnosis and said she had never been able to meet Richard’s treating doctor again.
She also questioned why she had been blocked on every social media channel.
Jiranuch said Richard’s death had left the family struggling emotionally. She said the loss of the person she described as the family’s leader had changed their daily lives.
She added that she is now ready to speak publicly about Richard’s case and hopes to protect other families from becoming victims of what she described as Thailand’s hospital business driven by money.
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