Plans and policies provide guidance, consistency, accountability, efficiency, and clarity on how an organisation operates. The Health Minister at the health policy dialogue held last month highlighted that while there is a growing importance of equity as a central goal for plans and policies in the country, the policy priorities to achieve it are not consistently or coherently explored. There is a need to review plans and policies to improve the country’s health system that is not just free but equitable and accessible.
While the country today enjoys almost 97 per cent access to health services, the question is on access to quality services. Health Minister Dechen Wangmo said that the current plans and policies need scrutiny to have equal and equitable services in the country.
“When we talk about equity and equality in policies then you apply a blanket rule. We had six very competent doctors superannuated very recently. And we realised that they are young enough. Since they are superannuating, we will be short of competent doctors so then we had to recruit but the rules say that we cannot recruit after they superannuate regardless of who they are. So this is where we are asking let’s have a certain level of equity built in our policies and plans,” Lyonpo said.
The Minister added that the procurement rules and regulations, in particular, need to be scrutinised as well.
“The procurement rules and regulation that is applied across all the ten ministries, we realised that health is different. Buying a CT machine or MRI machine is very different from buying tables and chairs and computers. So this is what we are lobbying for is probably separate procurement rules and regulation for health where if we want to deliver quality services our doctor must have quality equipment and technology. Now if we are bound by procurement rules and regulations, that creates a very big hindrance,” Lyonpo added.
The Minister assured that the ministry would review the health policy and table a Health Bill during this government’s tenure that will help reduce unequal and inequity in health services.
Sonam Pem
