Health officials of Tsirang are undergoing training on Package of Essential Non-Communicable Disease (PEN) interventions protocol in pursuit of combating NCDs.
Over 50 health officials are attending the training, which will end tomorrow.
PEN encourages early detection, strengthens prevention and increase access to related services. The protocol was first piloted in Punakha and Tsirang in 2012 but could not flourish, with challenges such as gaps in reporting and recording, lack of documentation and frequent transfer of staff trained on PEN among others.
“This protocol also aims to take services to doorsteps for those who are not able to come to the hospital to avail health services such as bed-ridden patients and old age patients,” Dreme Cheten, the Health Assistant of Sergithang BHU, said.
“We were following this protocol earlier but there weren’t proper guidelines after attending this training we understood the guidelines and rules of following the protocol. Now back in our BHU, we will screen every individual who visits the BHU,” Duba Tshering, the Health Assistant of Barshong BHU, said.
As a part of this protocol, BHUs in Tsirang will strictly regulate alcohol consumption via alcohol auditing and take measures to rehabilitate the habits now. There are 8 BHUs in the dzongkhag.
“By alcohol auditing, we mean to curb alcohol consumption. Patients coming to avail themselves of the health services from BHU will have to fill a form, which would score up to the patients level towards alcohol consumption. If your score is within 0-9 that shows no risk of alcohol problems, from 9-14 rates into moderate and maximum is above 20 scores, that will automatically demand a range of actions,” Lobzang Tshering the Senior Dzongkhag Health Officer, said.
Alcohol auditing will be replicated in the dzongkhag hospital as well.
The protocol also mandates official’s behaviours towards patients starting from the reception to their treatment. Bhutan is the first country in WHO’s South-East Asia Region to implement the PEN intervention nationwide in 2012.
