Vajira Hospital (, ) is one of the first hospitals in Thailand, founded by King Rama VI. It is a teaching university hospital of the Faculty of Medicine Vajira Hospital, Navamindradhiraj University; the Faculty of Medicine, Bangkokthonburi University and an affiliated teaching hospital of the Faculty of Medicine, Srinakharinwirot University. It is situated on Samsen Road, Dusit District, Bangkok, Thailand. Background Vajira Hospital is funded and operated by the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA). Following the establishment of the Faculty of Medicine Vajira Hospital (then BMA Medical College) it has been a teaching hospital since. It now houses the campus of the Faculty of Medicine, and also the training center of the Kuakarun Faculty of Nursing which are faculties of Navamindradhiraj University. Vajira is known for its excellency in clinical services, medical education and urban medication programs. The hospital serves a large numbers of patients, serving more than 700,000 out-patient visits and around 30,000 in-patient admitted annually, predominantly in general healthcare, it also has various specialized departments and excellency centers such as a Cardiovascular center, an Oncology center, Neurosurgery center, Kidney center, and a Trauma center, one of Bangkok's finest Emergency Medicine center, and many more, serving as a referral center for many other hospitals. It has an in-patient capacity of 900 beds, the largest operated by the BMA, and within some of the country's largest hospitals. History Public healthcare facilities or modern hospitals only became available in Siam in the late 19th century. But the number and quality of facilities were still insufficient to meet the rising public demand. When H.M. the King Vajiravudh (Rama VI) ascended to the throne, he follow a royal tradition that Kings of Siam would build temples and monasteries in order to contribute to Buddhism. However at the time, there were already large numbers of religious sites in Bangkok, so H.M. the King Vajiravudh decides on building a hospital instead, as to improve the lives of citizens, providing efficient primary healthcare. He donated money from his own private funds for the establishment of the hospital. The hospital was built in an area once called “Himmapan Garden” located in the northern part of Bangkok, near the bank of Chao Phraya River. The hospital was opened by King Vajiravudh on January 2, 1913 (B.E. 2455). The King named the hospital "Wachiraphayaban" (วชิรพยาบาล) translated "Vajira Healthcare" or simply "Vajira Hospital". The hospital was appointed to the Ministry of