Show this to your driver
โรงพยาบาลสุราษฎร์ธานี
Say “rong phayaban Surat Thani”. On Si Wichai Road in Makham Tia, on the south-western edge of the city, about six minutes by car from the centre and the river piers.
- TypePublic — Ministry of Public Health regional hospital, Health Service Region 11
- BedsAbout 862
- Address56 Moo 2, Si Wichai Road, Makham Tia, Mueang Surat Thani, Surat Thani 84000
- Switchboard+66 77 915 600
- Websitesrth.moph.go.th
- LanguagesThai; some English
- Opened1953
- On the mapOpen in Google Maps
The big one. Around 862 beds, every major department, an accident and emergency unit and a referral centre that arranges transfers in and out, at Thai public-hospital prices — which for a foreigner paying cash are a fraction of a private bill. The trade-off is queues, crowded wards and paperwork mostly in Thai.
What it is known for
Size, and the fact that everything else in the province eventually points here. Surat Thani Hospital is the Ministry of Public Health’s regional hospital for the upper south — around 862 beds, every major department, its own accident and emergency unit and a referral centre whose job is arranging transfers in and out. It opened in April 1953 with 25 beds and is now a teaching hospital, training doctors with the medical faculties of Thammasat University and Prince of Songkla University. For a traveller the practical point is simple: it is the largest hospital in the province by a wide margin, and the one a free ambulance takes an uninsured patient to.
Who it suits
Travellers without insurance who need real care at a price they can actually pay; anyone whose illness or injury is beyond what a small private hospital can handle; and anyone brought in by a 1669 ambulance, which is where most serious public cases in the province end up. It is not the place for a quick consultation in English. Queues are long, the wards are crowded, forms and signage are largely in Thai, and English is limited to a few doctors and departments. Bring your passport, and if you possibly can bring a Thai-speaking friend or someone from your hotel.
Cost and insurance
Public-hospital pricing. Foreigners are charged more than Thai citizens and still pay a fraction of what any private hospital in the city bills for the same treatment, and even an admission is affordable by Western standards. Payment is at the cashier before you leave, in cash or by card. Insurers very rarely direct-bill a Thai public hospital, so plan on paying and claiming afterwards. Ask for an itemised receipt and an English-language medical certificate before you go — both are routine requests here, and both are far harder to obtain once you have left the country.
Getting there
On Si Wichai Road in Makham Tia, on the south-western side of the city: about six minutes by car from the centre of town and from the Ban Don river piers, twelve from the railway station out at Phun Phin, and around half an hour from Surat Thani airport. Grab and Bolt both work in the city, and songthaews along Si Wichai Road pass the gate. The switchboard is +66 77 915 600, which reaches the accident and emergency department by extension. In an emergency call 1669 instead of driving yourself — the ambulance is free, and this is where it brings you.
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 3 hospitals in Surat Thani and Khao Sok
- Thaksin HospitalPrivate, about 200 beds, Talat Mai Road, city centre.
- Bangkok Hospital SuratPrivate, about 97 beds, Highway 420 bypass, Wat Pradu.
- Si Wichai Surat Thani HospitalPrivate, Si Wichai Road, Makham Tia.
Hospitals in Surat Thani and Khao Sok / Hospitals in Koh Samui, Koh Phangan and Koh Tao / Thailand visa guide / All hospitals