BNH Bangkok's First Hospital

Bangkok Nursing Home or the BNH Hospital's Proud Tradition of Caring

Sep 4, 2008 John Howe

The Bangkok Nursing Home or BNH has cared for Bangkokians and visitors for over a century and still is one of Asia's best hospitals.

At just over 220-years-old Bangkok is a relatively “new” capital and few buildings or organisations, in this capital, are even 50 or 60-years-old. One of a handful to boast a proud century-plus of serving Bangkok is the BNH Hospital, or as it is sometimes still known by its original name of the Bangkok Nursing Home.

The BNH Hospital has occupied its present site on Convent Road since the early 1920s but its history goes back further than that.

The Oldest Hospital in Thailand

Established in 1898 by the then British ambassador George Grenville, on Phra Yo Decha Road, the hospital’s initial purpose was to provide care for the expatriate community. However, it soon outgrew this site and in 1901 land was bought on nearby Convent Road allowing the hospital to expand further. Expansion was again necessary in the early 1920s when a new hospital was built on the Convent Road site.

The 1920’s building is a handsome example of early 20th century colonial style is still standing.. Both storeys had large windows with verandahs and balconies that overlooked a garden landscaped with tropical plants and trees through which ran a small brook.

Early Treatments

The atmosphere was safe and comforting, as it had to be, because in the early years of its life, the Bangkok Nursing Home was just that, a nursing home. The wonders of modern medical science were not available. The first antibacterials were a generation away and penicillin was unknown. TB was treated only with rest and large amounts of fresh air and was usually fatal. In the late 19th century the latest wonder drug aspirin was a relatively new discovery.

The drugs of the day were essentially unchanged for centuries. Digitalis, a-product of the foxglove, was the drug of choice for all kinds of heart conditions, mercury was still the standard treatment for syphilis. If you suffered a heart attack the chances of survival were slim; heroic interventions like external cardiac massage were over half a century away.

Cholera, typhoid, and smallpox were endemic killers, victims recovering more by luck than the skills of the doctors and nurses. Leprosy, remained a dehumanising and disfiguring disease that took its grizzly toll on human suffering and dignity. The only treatment for malaria was large doses of quinine.

The paraphernalia of today’s diagnostic machines and methods were undreamed of. The modern wonder of X-rays had just been introduced making the diagnosis of many conditions much easier, although in many cases treatment remained elusive.

Medical Museum

In Thailand there are few organisations that have lasted for over 100 years and that have thrived on the continual challenge of the new but the BNH Hospital is one. The hospital is one of the oldest in Asia and justifiably proud of its royal patronage and of its heritage of care and compassion that it has an on-line virtual museum that details the history of the hospital from its birth in 1898 to the hi-tech present. Visit it to learn about the development of medicine and nursing not just in Bangkok but around the world.

Learn more about the BNH Museum here.

The copyright of the article BNH Bangkok's First Hospital in SE Asian History is owned by John Howe. Permission to republish BNH Bangkok's First Hospital in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.