Health Minister Dechen Wangmo
To prioritise the urgent need of additional specialists for regional hospitals, the health ministry is planning to make the two regional referral hospitals (RRH) in Gelegphu and Monggar as teaching hospitals. A teaching hospital is affiliated with a medical school that trains doctors under the direct or indirect supervision of a senior specialist. This was shared by the health minister in response to the question of the member of parliament (MP) of Monggar in the National Council yesterday.
Questioning the minister on the shortage of specialists in the country, the Monggar MP, Sonam Pelzom shared that more than 200 patients were referred from Monggar due to lack of required specialists in 2017 alone.
To this, the health minister said the initiative of making regional hospitals as teaching hospitals will make it easier for people to avail themselves of services without having to visit the Jigme Dorji Wangchuk National Referral Hospital (JDWNRH).
“JDWNRH is autonomous and also a teaching hospital and therefore it has many specialists. So, I feel that if we merge Monggar and Gelegphu regional hospitals with the referral hospital and give autonomy, there is an opportunity for the specialists to move within the hospitals. At present, since JDWNRH is the teaching hospital, all the resident doctors are here at the national referral hospital and they do not get the opportunity to go to other two regional hospitals,” Health Minister Dechen Wangmo said.
The minister further added that due to a poor referral system, it has led to patient congestion in the National Referral hospital. For this, the health ministry is in the process of designing a systematic referral mechanism in the country.
“If we look at the current health service system, it is the three-tier system. At the base, we have BHUs, then district hospitals, then regional hospitals and the national referral hospital. In other countries, the system is such that the first one would visit a BHU, then if it cannot be treated, it will be referred further. But here the system is not followed. Those with power directly go to see a specialist even for minor problems. So it is very important to institute a systematic referral system. If not, it will also lead to a huge expenditure for the country,” she added.
With the graduation of 18 specialists this July, the shortage of specialists is expected to resolve. The ministry will prioritise of deploying them in the two regional hospitals.
As of today, National Referral Hospital is a lone hospital that offers medical practice to resident specialists in the country. There are 36 doctors currently practising specialty in various programs.
