Following the Second National Economic and Social Development Plan, medical demands rose rapidly and the Thai government sought to increase the number of doctors and nurses in the country. In August 1964, the government cabinet approved the plan of setting up a new medical school which would be located around the Phaya Thai area, on the Thung Phaya Thai grounds owned by the Treasury Department and located opposite the Ministry of Industry. Furthermore a new hospital called was also to be built on the site. On December 30, 1965, HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej graciously conferred upon the name of this new medical school "Ramathibodi" and laid the foundation stone for the faculty and hospital's buildings, as well as officially enrolling the first cohort of medical students at the Faculty of Science. Construction was started and the hospital opened on May 3, 1969 at the same time as the faculty. The Faculty of Medicine Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University is one of the two medical schools within Mahidol University. The older sister is the Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University. The Logo of the Ramathibodi Hospital is the shape of ร, the first thai alphabet of the Thai name of 'Ramathibodi '. The current director of the hospital is Assoc. Prof. Surasak Leelaudomlipi, M.D.
Facilities
The hospital is located on Rama 6 Road, close to Chitralada Royal Villa. There are 3 main health servicing buildings on the medical school campus which serve at least 5,000 out-patient visits per day and in-patients with more than 1,300 beds for tertiary medical care It is served by Ramathibodi Hospital Railway Halt, operated by the State Railway of Thailand. The Faculty of Medicine Ramathibodi Hospital has three principal buildings to serve more than 5,000 out-patients per day. The main building, Building 1, provides more than 1,000 beds for the tertiary care of complicated and severely ill patients in various specializing departments and units. The second building, Queen Sirikit Building, hosts many medical centers for specialised treatment such as:
Advanced Diagnostic Imaging and Imaging-guided Minimal Invasive Therapy Center
Cardiovascular and Metabolic Center
Queen Sirikit Medical Center, serving as a center for advanced projects, e.g., bone marrow transplantation project
It also houses modern operating rooms and intensive care units. The third building is located at the intersection corner of Ratchathewi Road and Rama 6 Road - the Somdech Phra Debaratana Building. It was opened by Princess Sirindhorn on August 14, 2011 and is the largest and newest building. The building is separated from the main hospital grounds as the National Cancer Center operated by the Ministry of Public Health, is located between them building. It houses Somdech Phra Debaratana Medical Center, which has 350 beds, 16 operating rooms, 14 Intensive Care Units, and specialized services, such as :
