Show this to your driver
โรงพยาบาลวชิระภูเก็ต
Say “rong phayaban Wachira”. In the middle of Phuket Town on Yaowarat Road, a short ride from the Old Town and about thirty minutes from Patong.
- TypePublic — Ministry of Public Health regional referral hospital for Phuket province
- BedsAbout 551
- Address353 Yaowarat Road, Talat Yai, Mueang Phuket, Phuket 83000
- Switchboard+66 76 361 234
- International patient office+66 76 361 236
- Websitevachiraphuket.go.th
- LanguagesThai; limited English, with an international patient office on +66 76 361 236
- Opened1920
- On the mapOpen in Google Maps
The hospital that takes everything the island cannot handle elsewhere. Vachira is the Ministry of Public Health’s regional hospital for Phuket: more than 550 beds, every major department, a medical school attached, an emergency room that never closes and a hyperbaric chamber, at Thai public-hospital prices. The trade-off is queues, crowded wards and paperwork in Thai; an international patient office helps with the language.
What it is known for
Size and reach. With 551 beds Vachira Phuket Hospital is by far the largest hospital in the province and the Ministry of Public Health’s tertiary referral centre for Phuket and its neighbours: it takes the serious road-accident cases, the complicated births, the long admissions and the public-health work the private hospitals do not touch, and it trains doctors with Walailak University’s medical school. It has been on Yaowarat Road since 1920. It runs a hyperbaric medicine unit that has treated divers for years, so it is the public alternative to the private chambers, and its emergency room is open around the clock. The wards are busy; the care is real.
Who it suits
Travellers without insurance who need serious treatment at a price they can pay, long-stay residents who hold Thai social security, and anyone in an emergency for whom it is simply the nearest big hospital. It is not the place for a quick English-language consultation: the outpatient queues are long, forms are in Thai and English is limited to the emergency room, some of the doctors and the international patient office. Bring a Thai-speaking friend if you can, bring something to read, and expect to wait.
Cost and insurance
Public-hospital prices. Foreigners pay more than Thai citizens but still a fraction of what any private hospital on the island bills for the same treatment. Payment is in cash or by card at the cashier before you leave; insurers almost never direct-bill a Thai public hospital, so expect to pay and claim. Bring your passport, and ask for an itemised receipt and a medical certificate in English before you go — both are routine requests, and the international patient office can help with the forms if the ward cannot.
Getting there
On Yaowarat Road in the middle of Phuket Town, a few minutes’ walk or a short motorbike-taxi ride from the Old Town, about thirty minutes from Patong over the hill through Kathu and forty-five from the airport. Grab and Bolt both come here, songthaews from every beach end their run in town a short ride away, and every driver on the island knows the name. Switchboard +66 76 361 234; the international patient office is +66 76 361 236 and is the number to try first if your Thai is limited.
Details checked against the hospital’s own website, September 2026. Call before a non-urgent visit; in an emergency call 1669 or the hospital’s own emergency line above. Travel information, not medical advice.
The other 7 hospitals in Phuket and Phi Phi
- Bangkok Hospital PhuketPrivate, about 266 beds, Hongyok Utis Road, north edge of Phuket Town.
- Bangkok Hospital SirirojPrivate, about 151 beds, Chalermprakiat Ror 9 (bypass) Road, south of Central Phuket.
- Dibuk HospitalPrivate, about 100 beds, Chao Fa West Road, between Phuket Town and Chalong.
- Patong HospitalPublic, about 90 beds, Sai Nam Yen Road, a kilometre inland from Patong Beach.
- Thalang HospitalPublic, about 90 beds, Thepkasattri Road, Thalang town, fifteen minutes from the airport.
- Mission Hospital PhuketPrivate, about 83 beds, Thepkasattri Road, north edge of Phuket Town.
- Chalong HospitalPublic, about 30 beds, Chao Fa West Road, by the Chalong circle.
Hospitals in Phuket and Phi Phi / Phuket and Phi Phi travel guide / Phuket tourist map / All hospitals