Challenges in providing health services according to administrative law on authorization : The perspective of public health service unit administrators
Keywords:
Delegation of authority, Public health service units, Administrative law, Basic public ServicesAbstract
This academic article aims to study and analyze the principles of power of attorney used in organizing health services, problems encountered in government service, and suggest solutions to problems arising from the criteria for delegating authority under current administrative law. Public health service is one of the basic public services that the state must provide to the people as specified in the Constitution. Therefore, it is necessary to be continuous, equitable, and can be improved and changed according to changing social conditions But when the public health service unit of the state is not a juristic person according to law, it makes the signature binding to carry out various operations. There are related problems and delays due to the power of those holding positions in the central or provincial government, as the case may be. The law has therefore laid down criteria for delegating other people to exercise authority or act on behalf of the government in order to increase the efficiency of government operations in order to resolve such obstacles. In practice, there are still problems with the understanding of attorneys, especially theoretical concepts. Legal power base procedures specified by law for granting power of attorney as well as the extent of the use of the powers that have been given to it, so that many times the government service has been carried out without authority. Therefore, it is seen that the Ministry of Public Health should rehearse and understand the principles of delegating authority to administrators of public health service units, especially hospitals, as they are the main players in providing health services. And in the future, the position of the public health service unit should be adjusted to be a legal entity in order to increase the efficiency of government service. Including the administrators of government organizations should have the ability to create a balance between the needs of the organization, personnel, and the public with the regulations for public administration. And there should be a clear vision to drive the agency and develop the health service system to achieve its goals within the framework that the law specifies another duty.
Public health services are one of the basic public services that the state must provide to the people as stipulated in the Constitution. However, when the public health service units are not juristic persons under administrative law, signing binding actions related to this matter is therefore hampered because the power may belong to a person holding a central position, so another person must be assigned to use the power or perform official duties on their behalf in order to increase the efficiency of official duties. Therefore, executives of government organizations, especially public health service units, who play a role in providing public health services to the public according to their authority, should be able to create a balance between the needs of the organization, personnel and the public with the administrative regulations on one hand, and should have a clear vision to drive the agency and develop the health service system to achieve its goals within the framework of the law's prescribed duties on the other hand.
References
Act Amending Ministry, Sub-Ministry and Department, B.E. 2545 (2002). (2002, October 2). Royal Thai Government Gazette, 119(99a), 14–33.
Act on the Administrative Regulations of the Ministry of Education, B.E. 2546 (2003). (2003, June 1). Royal Thai Government Gazette, 120(62a), 1–30.
Asvinvichit, G. (2017). Rule of law and public services of the state. Constitutional Court Journal, 19(55), 1–12.
Chaleoykitti, S., Kamprow, P., & Promdet, S. (2014). Patient safety and quality of nursing service. Journal of The Royal Thai Army Nurses, 15(2), 66–70.
Chirinang, P., Ketkaew, V., Kaewsanan, K., & Sirisunhirun, S. (2023). Thai local government organizations and public service management. Journal of MCU Nakhondhat, 10(5), 117–128.
Chongcharoenprasert, B. (2017). The relationship between the rule of law and the legal state. Constitutional Court Journal, 19(55), 103–115.
Civil Service Act, B.E. 2551 (2008). (2008, January 26). Royal Thai Government Gazette, 125(22a), 1–51.
Government Administration Act, B.E. 2534 (1991). (1991, September 5). Royal Thai Government Gazette, 108(156, Special Gazette), 1–41.
Kraikitrat, K., Buatala, K., Busaba, W., & Bodeerat, C. (2023). Thai local government organizations and public service management. Journal of Modern Learning Development, 8(1), 403–412.
Maneepairoj, P., & Potiwan, P. (2020). The right to public health service accessibility in Thailand. Research and Development Health System Journal, 13(1), 300–309.
Office of Policy and Strategy, Ministry of Public Health. (2004). Thai public health during 2001–2004. The Transport and Parcel Organization Printing House.
Sangha Act, B.E. 2505 (1962). (1962, December 31). Royal Thai Government Gazette, 79(115, Special Gazette), 29–44.
Singkaneti, B. (2017). The rule of law as a criterion for checking the actions of state organizations. Constitutional Court Journal, 19(55), 88–102.
Suwunwijitr, S., & Tasawiwatkul, B. (2021). Regime decentralization. Journal of MCU Nakhondhat, 8(5), 123–134.
Sombat Chantharawong. (2013). Theory of state and politics. Bangkok: Chulalongkorn University Press.
Wikipedia contributors. (2025). Hospitals in Thailand. In Wikipedia. Retrieved February 25, 2026, from https://th.wikipedia.org/wiki/โรงพยาบาลในประเทศไทย
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
Categories
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Journal of Academic Multidisciplinary Education

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
This article is published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), which allows others to share the article with proper attribution to the authors and prohibits commercial use or modification. For any other reuse or republication, permission from the journal and the authors is required.

