Compare Bangkok's 24-hour hospital emergency departments: direct emergency lines, ambulance and helicopter transfer, cardiac cover and interpreter support. Check services, staff, fees and availability with each provider before you book.
Several private hospitals publish two numbers, a short hotline and a full number; short codes such as 1378 and 1719 work only within Thailand.
Bumrungrad lists 24-hour emergency cardiac catheterisation, and MedPark a hybrid operating room with angiography beside its emergency department.
BNH and Samitivej Sukhumvit both treat children in their emergency departments around the clock.
Traffic matters: pick the department you can reach fastest from where you stay, not only the best known.
Our method for this page
We read each provider's own web pages on hospital emergency departments in Bangkok and kept only statements we could trace to a source. Nobody paid to be included, and the list is not a quality ranking. Criteria:
Bumrungrad's Emergency Center is on the ground floor of Building B (South Wing) and runs 24 hours a day with emergency physicians on site. The hospital lists doctors in surgery, anaesthesiology, cardiology, paediatrics, obstetrics and internal medicine for the department, and 24-hour emergency cardiac catheterisation at its Heart Center for heart attacks.
Within Thailand, the 1378 line handles emergencies, appointments and ambulances around the clock; the contact page also lists an emergency ambulance number. Transport includes a critical care ambulance fleet, a neonatal intensive care transport team, an aviation medical evacuation team and a licensed heliport.
If you do not speak English or Thai, the hospital says it will find an interpreter while the ambulance is on its way. It may suit visitors and residents around lower Sukhumvit who want a large private emergency department with cardiac cover at night.
JCI clinical care programme certifications (stroke, acute coronary syndrome, lung cancer, orthogeriatric; listed to 2027)
Bangkok Hospital's Emergency Service Center is on the 1st floor of the headquarters campus on New Petchburi Road, with a Trauma Center open 24 hours. The listed team includes trauma and burn surgeons, orthopaedic surgeons, neurosurgeons, neurologists, cardiologists, paediatricians and obstetrician-gynaecologists, and Bangkok Heart Hospital is on the same campus.
From 20:00 to midnight a 'Comfy Zone' sees non-urgent ('green') emergency cases and accepts all insurance policies; after midnight everyone is seen at the Trauma Center. The group's medevac service, on 1724, arranges transfers by land, sea or air and says it holds CAMTS accreditation.
It may suit people in central and eastern Bangkok who want an emergency department with several specialist hospitals on one site.
The Trauma Center at Samitivej Sukhumvit is on the 1st floor of Building 3 and is open 24 hours. The hospital lists a general surgeon on site around the clock, with orthopaedic, neurosurgical and cardiothoracic surgeons on call, and CT, MRI, emergency ultrasound and radiologists available at all hours.
Ambulances are described as equipped to ICU or CCU level, with an activation time of under two minutes, and the hospital arranges ground and air ambulance transfers for adults and children. It also lists 24-hour paediatric emergency care.
It may suit families living around Sukhumvit who want adult and children's emergency care from one hospital.
Worth confirming: The trauma centre page covers both the Sukhumvit and Srinakarin hospitals; when you call, make sure you are being sent to the Sukhumvit site.
BNH's Emergency Department is on the 1st floor of the hospital on Convent Road, Silom, and treats adults and children 24 hours a day. A team of emergency medicine physicians runs the department, which says it can call on every specialty and subspecialty in the hospital at any time; cardiac, sports-injury and dental emergencies are listed.
The same direct line handles emergencies and ambulance requests, and a doctor and ambulance call-out service covers hotels, embassies, offices and homes in central Bangkok. The department lists interpretation in French, German, Spanish, Italian, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Japanese, Cantonese and Mandarin.
It may suit residents and visitors around Silom and Sathorn, including families with children.
MedPark's Emergency Department is on the G floor of its Rama IV Road building and runs 24 hours. Patients are sorted into five categories, from critical to non-urgent, and the department has its own CT scanners and X-ray, a dedicated resuscitation area and negative-pressure rooms. A hybrid operating room with biplane angiography is available for complex cases.
Ambulances carry advanced resuscitation equipment and can support patients on ECMO or an intra-aortic balloon pump during transfer. The hospital also runs mobile ICU and NICU transfers, aeromedical evacuation by air ambulance, helicopter or commercial flight, and has a rooftop helipad.
It may suit patients with serious illness, or those being transferred between hospitals, who want intensive care close to the emergency department.
For booked, fee-paying care, Siriraj's emergency option is the Emergency Clinic of Siriraj Piyamaharajkarun Hospital (SiPH), the faculty's JCI-accredited private hospital near Thonburi railway station. The clinic is on the 1st floor of Zone A and is open 24 hours, with emergency physicians, nurses and support staff on duty at all times and an ambulance with a medical crew.
SiPH publishes its call centre, 1474 (press 1), as the contact for the clinic, and a 24-hour automated line, +66 2 419 1000. The page does not list a separate emergency number, or details on payment, language support or specialist cover.
It may suit people on the Thonburi side of the river who want a private emergency clinic linked to a large teaching hospital.
How to compare hospital emergency departments in Bangkok
Nobody chooses an emergency department in the moment; the choice is made, or not made, in the days before. Knowing which 24-hour department is nearest, what it can treat on site, how to reach it and how it expects to be paid saves time when time matters most.
This guide explains what to do in an emergency in Thailand, how to compare emergency departments in advance, and how payment usually works. It is general information, not medical advice: in a life-threatening emergency, call 1669 and follow the call handler's instructions.
What to do in an emergency
Thailand's medical emergency number is 1669. The UK government describes it as a free Ministry of Public Health service that usually transfers callers to the nearest available hospital, and the national emergency medical system is coordinated by the National Institute for Emergency Medicine. If someone is seriously ill or injured, call 1669 first, give the location as precisely as you can and describe what has happened.
Other numbers listed by the UK government are 191 for the Royal Thai Police and 1155 for the Tourist Police, who can also help with translation. For an urgent problem that is not life-threatening, such as a suspected fracture or a deep cut, going straight to a suitable emergency department may be quicker than waiting for an ambulance.
1669 — medical emergency (free)
191 — Royal Thai Police
1155 — Tourist Police, including help with translation
The direct emergency line of the hospital nearest to where you are staying
Hospital ambulances and the 1669 service
Many private hospitals run their own ambulances and publish a direct emergency or ambulance number. The UK guidance notes that there is usually a fee for a private ambulance. A hospital's own ambulance will normally take you to that hospital, while 1669 usually routes you to the nearest available one, which may be public or private.
Some hospitals list ambulances equipped as mobile intensive or coronary care units, helicopter transfer or, on the coast, a sea ambulance. These matter most if you live or travel somewhere remote, such as an island or a rural district, where the nearest hospital may not be able to treat serious injuries.
Choosing an emergency department in advance
Start with distance and traffic, then capability. A department that is open 24 hours is not the same as one that can manage every emergency on site. Look for what the hospital publishes: specialists on call, round-the-clock CT or MRI, an intensive care unit, a 24-hour cardiac catheterisation laboratory for heart attacks, a stroke pathway, and any trauma-centre verification. Ask which cases it transfers elsewhere, and where to.
The UK guidance warns that many government facilities outside Bangkok and the provincial capitals, particularly on the southern islands, are not equipped for major trauma. Large public and university hospitals, by contrast, often act as regional referral centres but may have longer waits and fewer English-speaking staff.
On arrival: triage and what to bring
Emergency departments see patients in order of clinical urgency, not arrival time, so a less serious case may wait. Tell the triage nurse clearly about symptoms such as chest pain, breathlessness, sudden weakness or heavy bleeding.
Bring the patient's passport: the UK government states it is required for treatment at both public and private hospitals. Bring insurance details with the insurer's 24-hour assistance number, and a list of current medicines, allergies and conditions, ideally in English with generic drug names.
Payment, deposits and guarantees
Treatment is rarely free, even in an emergency, and the UK travel advice states that hospitals require a guarantee of payment before treating patients. Contact your insurer or its assistance company as soon as you can and ask it to deal with the hospital directly. Self-funded patients should expect a deposit, especially on admission, and may receive regular, sometimes daily, invoices.
Thailand's UCEP scheme covers patients in a critical, life-threatening condition. Under rules revised in September 2026, hospitals must treat such patients without making care conditional on payment for the first 72 hours, with those costs claimed from the National Health Security Office. Whether a case is critical is decided at triage, patients with other insurance must use it first, and reports do not say how the scheme applies to foreign visitors, so it is no substitute for insurance.
After the emergency
Before you leave, ask for a medical report in English, copies of any imaging, an itemised bill and the receipts; your insurer will usually need all of them. If you are admitted and need to travel home, ask early about fit-to-fly paperwork and who arranges transfer or repatriation.
Questions to ask before you book
Is the emergency department open 24 hours every day, including public holidays?
What is the direct emergency or ambulance number, and is it answered in English?
Does the ambulance carry a doctor or nurse, and what does a call-out cost?
Which specialists are on call overnight, and is CT or MRI available at all hours?
Is there a 24-hour cardiac catheterisation laboratory and a stroke pathway?
Which emergencies do you transfer to another hospital, and which one?
Do you accept a guarantee of payment from my insurer, and can the emergency team contact it for me?
If I pay myself, what deposit is needed for emergency treatment or admission?
Are interpreters available in the emergency department at night?
Is there a separate paediatric emergency service for children?
Will I receive a medical report in English and an itemised bill when I leave?
Warning signs
No published emergency number, or a number that differs between the hospital's own pages with no explanation.
A department described as 'emergency' that keeps only daytime or evening hours.
No clear answer on which cases are transferred elsewhere.
Pressure to pay or sign for extra treatment before a critical patient has been stabilised.
Reluctance to give an itemised bill, receipts or a medical report for your insurer.
Which Bangkok hospitals have a helipad or air transfer?
Bumrungrad lists a licensed heliport and MedPark a helipad, and both, along with Samitivej and Bangkok Hospital's medevac service, describe air ambulance transfers. Check availability and cost with the hospital directly.
Is there an emergency department for non-urgent cases at night?
Bangkok Hospital runs a 'Comfy Zone' for non-urgent emergency cases from 20:00 to midnight, after which patients are seen at its 24-hour Trauma Center.
Do Bangkok emergency departments have interpreters?
BNH's emergency page lists ten languages, including French, German, Japanese and Mandarin, and Bumrungrad says it will provide an interpreter on request. Others do not publish language support for the emergency department, so a Thai speaker can help on the phone.
Does Siriraj have a private emergency department?
Siriraj Piyamaharajkarun Hospital (SiPH), the faculty's private hospital near Thonburi railway station, runs a 24-hour Emergency Clinic. It publishes its call centre, 1474 (press 1), rather than a separate emergency line.
About the writer and reviewer
NC
Naruemon Chaiyasit
Health writer
Writes Thai Clinic Guide's guides and comparisons, collecting each fact from the provider's own pages and noting where it came from.
AP
Anucha Prasertkul
Health writer and reviewer
Reads each page against its sources before it is published and checks that nothing reads as personal advice.
This page sets out published information and is not medical advice. Speak to a doctor before you choose treatment. Our method.
Private tertiary hospital
