The conventional wisdom contends that in May 1944, as the last of the POWs were being consolidated at ThaMaKam, the Japanese conceded to demands to establish the first actual hospital [1].
In his survivor account, Dutch Lt. Neil EVERS makes an interesting counter argument for its existence. He contends that it was established as a ‘model camp’ solely purposes of inspection by the ICRC to show them how well the POWs were being treated.
There are a few facts about that camp that make this allegation plausible. Nakorn Pathom is about half-way between Bangkok and the nearest TBR camp at NongPlaDuk. Such a location would allow the IJA to keep the inspectors away from the true TBR camps. By all accounts, this camp was organized and run more like a hospital than a POW camp, with little internal interference by any guards. There does not seem to be any other documentation or corroboration of EVERS’ remarks, but it should not be totally discounted.
Whatever the NKP hospital was created to be, hundreds of POWs owe their lives to the medications and interventions they received there.
[1] All other such camps that were referred to as ‘hospitals’ were little more than death camps were men were sent to die not be cured.