Senator Premsak urges a review of the Community Nurse Volunteer (CNV) program, pointing out that the selection process of one volunteer per subdistrict involves no academic knowledge testing and that plans to expand to one volunteer per village raise concerns about long-term budget obligations.
At 10:50 a.m. on 19 Oct 2026 GMT+7, at the media briefing room on the first floor of the Parliament building, Dr. Premsak Piyayura, a senator, held a press conference on the obstacles facing the Ministry of Public Health's Community Nurse Volunteer (CNV) program. He stated that he had submitted a question to the Minister of Public Health regarding the program’s implementation, but the minister postponed the response despite the issue's importance for public understanding, workforce management, and government budget use. The CNV program targets recruiting 7,256 personnel initially, selecting one volunteer per subdistrict nationwide, offering a monthly allowance of 15,000 baht per person. Currently, about 600 subdistricts remain unfilled. He also raised concerns that the selection process lacks academic knowledge tests, relying solely on interviews. He urged relevant agencies to consider the appropriateness and transparency of the selection process and requested the Ministry of Public Health clarify plans to expand the program from one volunteer per subdistrict to one per village. Such expansion could increase the budget by approximately 13 billion baht annually, so a thorough assessment of necessity and cost-effectiveness is needed before proceeding.
Dr. Premsak further demanded that the Minister of Public Health promptly explain the matter to the public and proposed that the ministry take the following actions: 1. Accelerate the hiring of professional nurses and support personnel at subdistrict health promotion hospitals that already have existing structures, instead of creating new positions; 2. Clearly define the roles of Community Nurse Volunteers to prevent overlap with professional nurses, Village Health Volunteers (VHVs), or caregivers; 3. Listen to feedback from professional organizations such as the Nursing Council of Thailand, the Nurses Association of Thailand, and relevant academic sectors to review the program’s implementation carefully, avoiding long-term budget commitments without comprehensive evaluation, ensuring the policy benefits the public, the health system, and government budget management.