CHIANG RAI – On March 17, 2026, during a Senate meeting, Senator Dr. Withaweer Prathumsawat, a senator representing the public health group in Bangkok, raised concerns about the new regulation that sets 12-hour work shifts for registered nurses.
The rule was recently published in the Royal Gazette on March 11, 2026, and has already sparked debate and protests from nurses in several areas, including Chiang Rai.
He pointed to the background of the issue and why it matters. One case that drew attention was the death of a registered nurse in Roi Et province, which was linked to long hours, heavy workload, and not getting enough rest. At the heart of the problem, he said, is the severe shortage of nursing staff in Thailand’s public health system.
He also criticized the new shift structure. Under the previous schedule, nurses worked three shifts: morning (8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.), evening (4:00 p.m. to midnight), and night (midnight to 8:00 a.m.).
That system, while still demanding, gave many nurses a better chance to manage daily life and family responsibilities, including taking children to and from school.
Now, the new rule changes that format to 12-hour shifts. Nurses are assigned to a day shift from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., or a night shift from 8:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m. the next day.
In practice, the workload often goes beyond those 12 hours. Nurses usually need extra time to hand over duties at the start and end of each shift. As a result, many may have to arrive early and leave late, pushing a single work period to 14 or even 15 hours.
That loss of rest time can seriously affect both physical and mental health. It also creates major problems at home, especially for nurses who are single mothers and must care for their children on their own. For many of them, this schedule leaves almost no room to manage family life.
At the end of his remarks, Dr. Withaweer called on the Thailand Nursing and Midwifery Council and the Ministry of Public Health to re-examine the 12-hour shift rule and make it more flexible. He also urged both agencies to solve the nursing shortage at its root through several clear steps:
- Fair pay
He called for overtime pay and professional compensation to match the real workload, which has become heavier. - Better welfare and support
He asked for stronger welfare benefits for nurses so they can work with more stability and security. - Clear career growth
He proposed better promotion pathways and clearer advancement opportunities, so more people will want to stay in the profession. - A more humane work system
He stressed that nurses are human beings, not machines. Forcing them to work when their bodies are exhausted puts their own health at risk and can directly affect patient safety.
He said that if the problem is fixed in the right way, it will help boost morale among nurses and encourage more people to enter the profession.
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