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In Pictures: Thailand’s emergency volunteers

Due to a large population and strained emergency services, Bangkok must rely on volunteers as first responders.

Ruamkatanyu Foundation volunteers and other medical and rescue teams wait for an emergency call at their meeting point while revellers enjoy the Thai New Year, Songkran. In addition to the personnel from the foundation, the base has firemen, paramedics and rescue service teams. All of them are volunteers.
By Biel Calderon
Published On 26 Apr 2014

Unlike many countries, Thailand sends out volunteer teams to traffic accidents or crime scenes before sending fully equipped ambulances. Emergency calls are answered by registered volunteers with the Erawan Medical Centre. 

With a population of more than eight million, Bangkok’s medical system must rely on volunteers. These volunteers, on average, provide basic life support services in about 65 percent of the emergency cases that occur during the year. One of the most common emergencies involve automobiles – more than 12,000 people die in road accidents in Thailand every year.

In addition to the Erawan Medical Centre, the Ruamkatanyu Foundation, a private organisation, uses a volunteer to support the capital’s underdeveloped emergency services. It is one of the two largest free rescue services for accident victims in Bangkok. While the foundation relies on private donations, volunteers sometimes have to use their own money to buy vehicles, gas, uniforms and medical equipment.

Volunteers are also not allowed to accept money, neither from hospitals nor from victims. The volunteers Al Jazeera talked to say they do this job because of their passion for helping people or as a way to earn extra karma for their next incarnation. 

Approxamately 20 to 30 volunteers report for duty daily for the Ruamkatanyu Foundation. These numbers double or even triple during Thailand’s traditional New Year, where a spike in traffic-related accidents occur. The Road Safety Directing Centre reported 277 deaths and 2,926 injuries in 2,754 road accidents nationwide in the first six days of the festival, beginning on April 11.

A police officer directs traffic at the scene of an accident while Ruamkatanyu volunteers assist an injured young boy whose leg is trapped in a sewer. This volunteer service specialises in quick response rescues. With around 2,000 unpaid staff, they are often the first to arrive on the scene.
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One of the volunteers from the foundation waits to deliver a patient - whose leg was trapped in a sewer - to the hospital. Thailand operates on a two-tier emergency support system, sending out volunteers to accident or crime scenes first, and then an advanced life-support ambulance if needed. 
Ruamkatanyu volunteers Taow, left, and Sakorn wait at one of the organisation(***)s meeting points in Bangkok. Taow, 36, is in charge of gathering the victims’ personal information and also assists with basic medical services. Sakorn works as a taxi driver during the day. The 40-year-old has been working with the foundation for at least four years and volunteers four nights a week, six hours per night. 
A 25-year-old volunteer monitors police frequencies during Songkran, the Thai New Year. He has been working as a volunteer with the foundation for 10 years. Most volunteers work at night, starting their shift around 8pm. His wife, Fai, is also a volunteer at the foundation.
As a private charity, the foundation needs donations ro purchase medical equipment.
A volunteer assists his team during a traffic accident. After the volunteers have done what they could at the scene, they go back to one of the bases in the city to wait for the next emergency call. 
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Ruamkatanyu volunteers Taow, left, and Pilapon, 14, help a motorcycle driver who crashed into a van. The driver was allegedly driving under the influence of alcohol. Pilapon is one of the youngest volunteers. Anyone can join following 2-3 days of training.
EMTs from Ruamkatanyu lift a man into the ambulance before driving him to the nearest hospital. The victim was badly injured from a fight with a group of teenage motorcycle drivers. The foundation also employs some professional staff like EMTs and body-collectors. 
Volunteers assist an injured man who had a bicycle accident before taking him to the nearest hospital. The Probation Department reported that it put 1,924 traffic law violators on probation, including 1,737 drunk drivers during the Thai new year. 
A Thai girl who injured her ankle in a motorcycle accident is wheeled inside a hospital. The Road Safety Directing Centre reported 277 deaths and 2,926 injuries in 2,754 road accidents nationwide during the first six days of Songkran. Drunk driving was the main cause of accidents, followed by speeding. Most of the accidents involved motorcycles, followed by pickup trucks.